


i dare you not to fall in love

by renlybaratheon



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, First Kisses, First Meetings, M/M, Nerve AU, adam pov, god when will i not write an au lmao, i dont know if opal will be in this im sorry i want her to be but idk how, pynch being stupid and cute, summer between high school and college
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2018-12-22 16:42:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 62,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11971443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renlybaratheon/pseuds/renlybaratheon
Summary: It's the summer before Adam Parrish's first year at university, and he needs money to pay for it. His good friend, Henry Cheng, talks about a new and popular phone game where you're dared to do ridiculous stuff for money.... What could go wrong?





	1. this is probably not going to end well is it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for once a title i didn't take from a song??? what????? i couldn't find a song with dare in it that i liked lmao

It was the summer before freshman year of college, and Adam only just turned nineteen last week. He needed money like he needed time, both slipping past him like sand through his fingers. He felt like he had broken through an hourglass and was trying to refill it before it all ran out, but no matter how much sand he filled at the top it still sank to the bottom.

College was coming up fast, and he didn't get the scholarship he needed, and the thought of paying for school solely out of pocket sounded absolutely terrifying. He barely paid for the first semester by the deadline, but he knew no matter how many jobs he picked up (currently three) he couldn't afford the next semester while also paying to live in New York City. Which meant he was basically fucked.

That's where Henry came in. It was Henry who suggested they use this website, called _n3rv3_. Adam hadn't heard of it before, and then after it was described to him he wasn't sure if he would want to do something like that, to play truth or dare extreme edition, without the truth, where his fate was judged by others who played the game deciding what he would do for their entertainment. He needed money, but he didn't want to make it that way, but somehow through the course of one night out, Henry proved to Adam the levels of the game and that it could be fun if he let it. He was kind of in. He was kind of desperate.

It was a warm humid night in New York, and Adam couldn't help but feel nervous. He signed up that afternoon for the game but hadn't yet clicked play. Henry promised him he would have fun as well as make money. There were really only three rules to the game: record everything on his phone, money could potentially be taken away if the player fails or bails, and the player can't report anything to law enforcement, although Adam didn't see the point of the last one. Henry said it was harmless fun, and it looked it after watching Henry make a fool of himself the other night. But he supposed there had to be some extra edge to an over popular game that was probably gonna die out within the month.

"Come on," Henry said, egging him on. "You never have fun."

Adam gave him a withered look before his eyes darted back down to his phone. Play was pulsing under his thumb, asking to be touched.

"Don't feed into peer pressure, Adam," said Blue, who joined them for a night out when she heard Adam might be doing this. The three of them grew up together in the same Podunk town of Virginia, but they were visiting Henry's cousin in Staten Island that weekend to get the lay of the land of Adam's future state. And tonight they were going to make fools of themselves in it.

"It's not peer pressure if he's the one who asked me about it," said Henry. There was a momentary pause as he questioned it, himself. "Right?"

Adam hesitated listening to either friend, knowing in the end it was his decision. He wanted to be spontaneous for once in his life. He wanted to make money like how Henry did last night. He wanted to be a teenager.

He clicked Play.

The screen immediately turned into a camera.

"What- How do I do this?"

He looked to Henry. He didn't get this far in the tutorial. Henry took his phone from him and began swiping and tapping. Adam and Blue both inclined their heads closer to see what it was he was doing.

"Okay, you've got your basic view count in the bottom," Adam already felt ill when he saw a dozen people already looking in, "and dares pop up here. Comments can be made visible or invisible with this little bubble button, and you have to be filming live as you complete a dare otherwise it's not documented and doesn't count. The rest of it I'm sure you'll learn along the way. I did."

Adam took a deep breath and wondered how bad this could be. Henry's worst one the other night was mooning a cop. Okay, no that was pretty bad now that he thought about it. Suddenly he didn't want to play anymore.

"Oh! Your first dare." Henry touched at the screen with glee. He was enjoying this more than Adam was. Or should he say, user @ **the.magician**. That's what he went by on this website.

Henry's smile faded flat. "Okay, this is kind of boring."

And Adam instantly swiped Henry's hand out of the way to read it.

 

_Go to Nino's on 5th for your first dare_

 

Ignoring how creepy it was the game knew relatively where they were, Adam sighed and accepted.

"Okay, let's go," he said.

Nino's on 5th was a pizza place falling apart. There was another one back home that Blue worked at, which was equally in disarray. This one looked like it was trying to be a 50s diner with a side of space town theme. It made no sense, but that was beside the point. When Adam checked back into the app with his location, a new dare appeared on screen.

 

_Kiss a stranger for fifteen seconds_

 

The reward? $100.

Adam couldn't believe this. Fifteen seconds was a lifetime, and with a stranger no less. But $100 for one kiss? What could be the harm in that? But what if they had bad breath? What if there wasn't anyone relatively attractive or age appropriate inside? What if they didn't want to kiss him back?

Inside, Adam only panicked more, seeing the selection of patrons at his disposal.

"Oh my god you're really gonna do this," said Blue. He saw her reach for his phone as they walked. "Did they say which sex or gender to kiss?"

"No, Blue." Adam remembered to hold the phone so his viewers could see what he was seeing. There were comments appearing at the corner of the screen but he ignored them all. They were trying to get him to kiss the weirdest people. An old, balding man who looked to be drooling into his tea. A woman trying to wrangle three kids. A girl probably their age... who had a boyfriend.

His eyes raked over the place as they moved through, Henry whispering pointers in his good ear, and Blue talking about the dangers of group based games.

Then he found himself freezing, eyes having found someone of interest. There in the corner was a lone, shaved head peeking out from behind a large and pretentious Latin novel. He remembered having to read it in high school, and couldn't believe there was someone reading it out here like this for possibly pleasure. His feet were up on the seat of the blue speckled plastic booth cushions, wearing a motorcycle jacket and combat boots. Just above the pages his eyes peered out from behind the book, piercing like a hawk's intense stare just before it dove down into a mouse and ate it. He gulped.

"It says to hurry up," Blue noted dully. Adam panicked and fiddled with his phone. He changed the screens so it was on him again and hissed at his camera.

"Fucking patience," he said.

"Dude," Henry laughed. "You're gonna get kicked out with that attitude."

Adam gave him a look that said he couldn't care less, even though he did. He wanted this money, and more importantly he wanted to prove he could do this. Not to Henry and certainly not to the strangers on his phone that were probably getting some creepy thrill from this. He wanted to prove it to himself, mainly.

After handing off his phone to Henry, he stepped forward, inching really, and then felt Blue give him a gentle shove that knocked him a few big steps closer until he was at the end of the booth. The guy looked up from his book, and when the book was pulled away from his face, Adam momentarily held his breath.

Fuck this guy was gorgeous, with sharp features that enhanced in the harsh lighting of the diner, paired with bright blue eyes that matched the color of the booths. Every bit of him screamed with a warning, but he felt a thrill when their eyes met. It was then he noticed the earring in his right ear and a tattoo peering from under his collar.

With a twisting smirk he eyed Adam up and down, lifting one eyebrow slowly above the other as he motioned for him to speak. Adam felt like an idiot. The comment section probably said as much. He glanced back at Henry and Blue to see Henry with his phone raised to film them. Jesus.

" _The Achilleid_. That's a good book," said Adam.

The guy noted his own book with an offhand glance. "It's boring. I'm falling asleep."

"Your usual Saturday night?" Adam quipped.

The boy had dimples when he smiled. Jesus Fucking Christ.

"Hurry up," Blue hissed in the distance. Or maybe he was imagining it, because he didn't mind who he picked to kiss at all.

Like a switch had turned on Adam felt his body move on instinct alone. He sat down, pushing off the guy's leg, and he inclined his entire front into him without a second thought.

A little nervous, but suddenly feeling the thrill Henry promised, he watched as the guy's eyes went wide and a flush creep into his cheeks. He was startlingly handsome it almost made this feel staged, like he was left here for him almost.

"I have to kiss you," he said. "I'm sorry."

"What the f-?"

And Adam was kissing him. At first it was a simple basic kiss that Adam felt was nice enough, real simple he could get away with fifteen seconds with this stranger. But then something overcame him, and when the guy opened his mouth in surprise, Adam felt compelled to kiss him deeper. The guy was kissing him back, a sweep of his tongue running across the base of Adam's teeth. His hand came and knotted in Adam's hair, who liked the feeling and leaned more into him as a result. The guy then tilted his head so he could angle himself better, and Adam felt his second hand come to hook at his neck and pull him even closer. Adam felt courage enough to reach and touch the guy's face in return, thumbing the edge of his jaw. This was less a kiss as it was more an adrenaline high, even the other guy's heartbeat fast and jerky like they were on a rollercoaster at high speed. When the big upside down twist came up, Adam heard Blue hissing in the distance.

"You're good," she said. "Stop. _Stop_ . _Helloooo_."

Adam pulled from the guy, although his hand was left in place. The boy's penetrating eyes were still closed for a few seconds when they split, and then they opened to Adam's delight. His expression clouded as his hands returned to him, and they were separated at last.

"Okay, thanks." Adam slid out of the booth and walked away. Without looking back, still a little dizzy from the kiss, he hurriedly returned to his friends who were still holding his phone out for him.

"Dude," Henry said, and Adam looked to see he had nearly two hundred viewers from that alone. God, how embarrassing. There were comments flooding in about how hot that was and did you really know him??? we wouldn't judge bc wow and holy shit u really went for it. He muted them with the touch of the bubble button. But he grinned when he saw a bank notification that he got the $100.

"I can't believe you just did that," said Blue.

"Was he a good kisser at least?" asked Henry.

Both Blue and Adam looked at him with similar expressions of disinterest.

They both asked more of him, about the kiss and if he was going to play more, when out of nowhere Blue's eyes were wide with fear.

"What?"

He turned around to see the guy standing directly behind him and he flinched.

"Shit."

At first he thought he looked angry, hooded brow and flatlined lips, but then those lips twitched into a tiny smile and his eyes relaxed as he raised up his phone.

 

_Take cute freckled boy into Manhattan_

 

Adam felt a rush of energy pulse through him. "You play?" he found himself asking.

The guy shrugged. "It beats sitting at home masturbating alone," he replied.

Adam laughed despite himself. The boy quirked out a slightly wider smile, showing his teeth underneath as his lips split apart. Adam couldn't help but feel a little impressed.

He almost forgot they weren't alone until he felt Blue at his side pulling on his arm, and Henry groaning beside her.

"What, you just happened to be here?" asked Blue. He could hear judgment in her voice. She didn't believe him. Adam held her back with an arm across her shoulder.

"The app has location services turned on," the guy reasoned. "Probably knew someone would be here. Matched us or something. I don't know. I had no idea you were going to do that, in case you were at all worried," he said, looking again at Adam. "But now the game wants more, so here I am."

For some reason he trusted what this guy was telling him, even though he had no reason to.

"You can always say no," and the guy shrugged, placing his phone back in his pocket. "I wouldn't hold it against you. I would say no."

"You would?"

"But I did just give you the best kiss of your life, so...." He smirked and Adam almost blushed, but he managed to control his emotions when he remembered they kissed for a dare. He rolled his eyes instead.

Blue scoffed next to him. Adam really wished his friends weren't here eavesdropping on this. He couldn't help but find himself smiling at this guy. His bad jokes were enough that Adam felt himself loosening up at the idea of going across the bridge to Manhattan with him. It was less terrifying as the boy stared back at him with open wonder in his eyes, intrigue in his smile. Adam's whole body twitched.

When he glanced back to his friends, he found Henry giving him eyes that said to go, while Blue looked more apprehensive with her hands across her chest.

"I'll be outside if you change your mind," said the guy, and he disappeared around the corner and out the door.

"Dude, go," Henry said. "We can take care of ourselves."

"Don't feed into peer pressure!" Blue hissed. "This is reckless."

Adam looked between them and back to the where the boy once stood. He teased his teeth on his lip as he remembered how every particle of his body was awakened and rejuvenated at the meeting of their mouths. He almost laughed at himself.

"I'll see you guys later."

"What?" Blue gaped.

"Have fun," said Henry.

Outside Adam followed after the guy to the parking lot, and realized he wasn't wearing a motorcycle jacket just to look hot in it. He was leaning against a motorcycle when he found him. Adam gulped as the guy reached for a helmet hanging from one of the handlebars.

"You sure you want to do this?" he said. "Plenty of time to say no."

"I'm sure," said Adam.

You're in luck, then," the guy said. "I just bought a second helmet today."

He outstretched his hand to Adam, offering one to him. Adam didn't know what to respond to this.

"We can uh take the bus....." he said, collecting himself enough his voice didn't come out as shaky as it wanted. His phone beeped as he stood there, and he looked down at it where a new dare had popped up.

 

 _Ride the motorcycle_ \- $200

 

"Fuck this is creepy." Adam looked around, suspecting someone was watching, but they were alone.

"You left it on," the guy noted. Adam soured, thinking he was making fun of him.

"I'm new at this," he said.

"Wouldn't have guessed." The guy laughed a little when Adam came and gently hit him at the shoulder. After a moment he stepped back again and looked back down at his phone.

"This game isn't safe, in case you think it's an easy ticket to cash," the guy warned. "That kiss is going to be the easiest thing you'll be dared to do all night."

Adam frowned at him. "I can handle myself," he said.

"You sure?"

"Fuck you. Yes, I'm sure."

The guy sat straight on the bike and looked him up and down again. His tongue came to run across the edges of his lips and Adam was pleasantly reminded of the kiss not that far back. The memory triggered his legs to quake, a feeling he did not particularly enjoy displaying in front of this boy.

"You can probably do whatever you put your mind to, I bet," he said. The boy had more faith in his daring side than he did.

Adam was a very logical person. He didn't often take risks. He didn't often do much else except school and work. But in order to pay for school, he needed to do something a little illogical.

"I always get the job done," he explained.

The boy's eyes seemed to soften as he sat forward on the bike, inclining into him as much he could with the distance between them. The light of his bike's speedometer lit up his face from underneath, casting shadows that distorted him. His dark eyelashes cast shadows on his cheeks.

"You know, kissing a stranger is a risk these days," he said. "I could've been a serial killer."

"Still could be," Adam replied.

The boy said nothing. With his wicked and sharp smile, and his vibrant blue eyes, he was slowly unearthing an adventure inside Adam that only required him to say yes and sit down. He fidgeted with his phone, then clicked accept.

"Okay," he said, shaky, as the timer went off for him to sit down. "Well, if I'm going to ride on the back of a motorcycle with you, at least tell me your name."

"Ronan Lynch." Ronan offered a hand to shake.

"Adam Parrish," he replied.

They shook hands, Adam's callused palm a little sweaty, as was the rest of him out here in the humidity. Ronan's hand was softer, rough at the edges like his though, and he had a nice, firm grip. The heat of his wrist at Adam's fingertips as they grazed past it for only a second was matched with the feel of his pulse escalating from skin against skin. It was enough to send a buzzing thrill to his head. He sort of wanted to kiss him again.

_Focus, Adam._

"Okay." He breathed. "Give me the helmet."

"Sure thing," said Ronan. He flashed another grin as he handed it over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dear notting hill au and camp au readers i know what you're thinking:
> 
> "wtf alex another wip? i swear to GOD"
> 
> pls bare w my inability to focus on one writing project at a time. the others are being written. i just... am so... unapologetically slow again.
> 
> please leave comments and feedback and give kudos if you liked the chapter <3 i feed off feedback hahaha.
> 
> tumblr: cabeswatergreywaren & twitter: adam__parrish


	2. dress up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Good luck," said Ronan. He was leaning into him, almost like moral support.
> 
> "See you on the other side," said Adam.
> 
> "If I don't see you-"
> 
> "Oh, fuck, Lynch. We don't have time for this."

They had thirty minutes to get over the bridge and to an address somewhere in Manhattan, and Adam never felt more alive.

"If we don't make it, do we lose all the money we've made?" asked Adam. He didn't know the rules in that great of detail, and he didn't want to lose even just the hundred he made so far. Not that kissing Ronan didn't seem worth it, but he wanted the money.

"Yeah, I think so," said Ronan. "Haven't lost a dare yet, though. Lucky for you, I drive fast."

Motorcycles were terrifying, but after a while Adam began to feel the other side of it. The exhilarating side that explained why so many people rode in one. The fresh air, the freedom of not being boxed inside a metal container. He almost stretched out his arms as they zipped through traffic, but he was afraid of letting go of Ronan and sliding off the back. Ronan's weight held him steady, as his hands slipped around his waist.

"How long have you been playing?" Adam's arms curled tighter around Ronan as they rounded a corner and were finally on the bridge. The city was in view, sparkling with light and life. He hadn't been inside it in a long time, not since a field trip as a kid, and soon he would be living in it. The adrenaline was rushing to his head and he was feeling dizzy, and he pressed closer into Ronan's back, knocking their helmets together for only a second.

"I've been playing since last week, when it started here," said Ronan. "This is the first time they've partnered me up, though."

"Is that a thing?" Adam didn't know anything about this game other than what Henry told him, and judging by how expansive it allow was, he didn't tell him much.

"It can be," Ronan said, shouting over the honking of a horn. "I don't know. The people that pay to watch are fucking weirdos."

The fact that he said this when they had their phones out filming their adventure made him almost smile. He certainly had a dangerous streak to him. His thoughts were cut off however as this dangerous streak avoided being cut off by a taxi.

Adam's grip tightened as they slipped through two lines of traffic. He pinned his eyes shut and held his breath as he could feel the heat of Ronan's skin emanating through the leather, hearing the sound of traffic in one ear and dead silence in the other. It was overpowering and terrifying and yet he didn't ask him to stop or pull over.  Because he was also having fun. He kept his eyes closed until they were through to the other side, when the cacophony of sounds weren't bouncing back and forth between the cars. His grip, however, might have remained the same.

They had five minutes left and they finally were through to the other side of the bridge. Adam was nervously twitching, which Ronan must have noticed. He had to, but he said nothing.

"Hey, Parrish," he called back, as they ran through a yellow light. God he was going to die on the back of this thing and not even need the money.

"Yeah?" His voice was as shaky as his limbs, which constricted around Ronan's thighs and waist when they turned another sharp corner. Fuck, for a moment he felt as if they were flying.

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen." Adam swallowed as his mouth was getting dry from all his perspiring. "You?"

"Eighteen," Ronan said.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious is all," Ronan said.

They kept driving.

When they reached their destination, they pulled up fast and hard, and Adam rocked into Ronan from behind at the jerky stop. His body felt like it was still going seventy when they reached zero, just in time for the timer to go off.

"Made it just in time," Ronan said. He could hear the grin in his voice as he lifted off his helmet. Must be nice to have a shaved head, allowing for no helmet hair. When Adam moved to peel his off, he felt almost disappointed he had to remove his arms from around Ronan. He made an effort not to showcase this as he removed his helmet, hands trembling. Ronan helped him, and then one hand was at his hair, picking at it. He laughed. Adam said nothing but frowned, jerking away. He slipped to the left and almost fell off the bike, his body experiencing some weird vertigo. A rush of blood went to his head as he meant to stand, and Ronan caught him before he fell to the cement ground.

"Whoa whoa whoa," he said, a laugh underlying his words as he lifted Adam to his feet. Adam clung to him for a second, for guidance and nothing else, until the brush of his breath struck Adam's face and he was alert again. He pulled free of his hands and stood steady as a blade of grass. There was a van behind him he used to rest against, pretending it was all casual when really this was the rush of his life.

"You okay?"

Adam waved him away and swallowed hard. "I'm fine," he said, coming off cooler than he felt. He was jello right now. Part of it was explained in the snarky smile Ronan was wearing, who seemed to see right through him.

"Don't get out much, do you?" Ronan teased.

Adam gave him the middle finger.

"You going to keep playing?" Ronan asked, and Adam bit back the urge to say yes, when really he didn't know what he wanted. That was already a lot and it was easy compared to what Henry had to do, what others probably had to do, what Ronan probably had to do any other night. If push came to shove he knew he could defer for a year and save to earn more money for college, but there was also this. He looked him up and down and wondered why he was talking to Adam like he was. There was definite flirting happening, and he liked it.

"I don't know yet," Adam admitted. He needed the money, but he also could barely stand right now.

"Okay. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah. Uh. You too."

He was disappointed how quickly Ronan accepted it, and watched him start across the street.

At once, his phone beeped the same monotone ding as before, and he each pulled it out to read from it. He watched as Ronan did the same.

 

 _Go inside and try this on_ \- $500

 

Ronan crossed back over the street.

"Same message?" he asked.

"Guess they're not done with us yet," said Adam, and he was smiling at the idea. Ronan smiled a little, too. He didn't really want to leave if he had the chance to stay.

They each showed the other their message, which was the same except for the outfit they were expected to try. It was then that Adam realized they pulled up to a designer department store, where they seemed to be expected to go in.

"Do you think they mixed us up?" Adam asked, looking at the outfits they were meant to try on. Adam's had a leather jacket, black pants and a Givenchy tee. This was more Ronan's style, and Ronan's outfit was a nice looking suit. He had the easier one.

"Dunno. But it looks like a scavenger hunt." Adam felt energized at the idea of pressing yes. He saw at once Ronan's eyes went wild with the thrill of a countdown and running around in front of all those pretentious rich assholes inside.

He grinned when Ronan turned his gaze to him and asked, "You still playing?"

"Yeah." Adam wanted the money, but he also wanted more time with Ronan.

They both pressed accept.

 

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

 

Inside everything was minimalistic and clean and bright, and Adam found himself swept up in all of it as a gentle instrumental song played through the building's speaker system. It smelled like expensive perfume in her and everyone was dressed in fancy clothes with fancy haircuts and had fancy walks. He remembered the old magazine advertisement he kept of someone that looked like these people, and how it was what he hoped to aspire to be one day, and when he walked in with Ronan he looked down at himself and felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb wearing an old hoodie and sneakers with jeans. Ronan at least looked rugged in his outfit. Adam swallowed as he walked up to a man standing behind a register, and showed his screen to him.

"Where are these?"

The man gave him one strange look and then down at the phone.

"If you have to ask-"

"Don't be an asshole," Ronan snapped.

The man startled and then glanced between the two of them. Adam never felt more out of place.

"Upstairs," said the man. "Menswear. Fifth floor."

Ronan took his hand and ran.

In the elevator they were alone, listening to chime music playing overhead. It killed the impact of the run, but it was the fastest way up.

Adam noticed Ronan move in close to him in his peripheral, staring at him. He looked in his direction and stared back, curious.

"What?" he said.

"I'm just trying to get a reading on you," Ronan said. "Are you...."

"Gay?" Adam finished for him. "No. Bi? Yes."

Ronan's lips pulled up tight into a unwarranted grin and he snickered.

"I was going to ask a _completely_ different question, but please, do go on."

Adam fidgeted with the hood of his hoodie, almost daring to pull it up and avoid Ronan's incriminating smile.

"Are you going to try to steal my identity?" said Adam.

"Nah," said Ronan. "I'm sure nerve already did."

"Ha ha." But Adam was a little terrified of the thought. Why did he do this again? Why was he still doing this? He looked to Ronan and found him still staring.

"That's good," Adam replied, playing along if only not to allow himself to think about the implications of playing this game. "Seeing as I've clearly stolen your heart."

Ronan cackled and Adam could feel himself beginning a blush from the humiliation. He wanted to slide down the wall of the elevator until he slid out of it and out of this conversation.

"You sure think a lot of yourself," said Ronan.

"Trust me. I don't."

"Well...." Ronan inclined into him and Adam felt unwound. "You should. That was some kiss."

The elevator stopped, jerky for an elevator in such a fancy place as this. Then the doors slid open and there before them lay a jungle of men's clothing, a mess of mannequins and snobby shoppers. They both looked down at their phones for their items to scavenge for, then back up at the obstacle course ahead.

The timers went off on their phones simultaneously. Adam jerked a step to stop the elevator from shutting when he realized he barely had any time to find what he was looking for. Same for Ronan.

"Good luck," said Ronan. He was leaning into him, almost like moral support.

"See you on the other side," said Adam.

"If I don't see you-"

"Oh, fuck, Lynch. We don't have _time_ for this."

They each broke for the opposite direction once they exited the elevator. Adam was on the hunt for his three items, still admittedly bitter he was given the harder task when Ronan had been playing longer. He wanted to win, and at this point it was a combination of thirst and money and pride.

The shirt was the easiest to find, and when he did he noticed he was offered thirty seconds of leniency on the clock. This game was creepy and rigged and soul sucking but he couldn't stop. Not yet. Not when he already had $300 added to his bank account and could possibly get 500 more just for trying on clothes. He scanned through the mannequins and the drawers and displays for the jacket and pants, and knocked into several other shoppers in his panic.

He didn't bother apologizing when they didn't even look. Adam kept on moving, feeling so out of place here but starting to feel better for it.

He found the leather jacket on a mannequin in the back of the store and pulled it off one handed while filming with the other. There wasn't anyone else around when he did, and he threw it over his shoulder for later, only to find he wasn't given leniency for this discovery. But he found it. He had it. He almost angrily pushed at his phone's screen but remembered that wouldn't do anything except possibly break his phone in the process.

So he searched for the pants last. He was eyeing mannequins and the timer, trying to keep a balance between the two. It was alarming how fast his heart was going, and how the closer it got to zero the more nauseous he became. He was going to throw up in this rich person store. He was going to lose.

"Um, can I help you?"

Adam bumped into one of the employees quite literally, and he jerked back almost dropping his phone.

"Uh...." He glanced at the time. He had three minutes to find the pants. "Can you help me find these?" He raised his phone to the woman. She took a look and then sighed, as if he asked of her something below her pay. He didn't know how to respond.

"This way...." She slowly turned and expected him to follow. He hurried after, feeling sickly.

"Could we, um, hurry this along?" he said. "I have a hot date."

She sighed again. "Fashion does not rush."

What in the hell did that mean? They were /pants. This wouldn't take so long if he looked the part, but he didn't because he wasn't and now he was made uncomfortable following her through the shop. He swore he spotted Ronan in the distance, but he couldn't be sure. This place was a maze.

"Here," said the woman. When Adam was face to face with his last piece of clothes to try on he almost smiled. Instead he reached for them, but the woman gave him a strange, threatening look.

"Uh, don't undress the mannequins," she said. He almost explained he already did, but that probably wouldn't be in his favor.

"Then how am I supposed to get it off?" he asked. "Seducing the plastic man?"

She grimaced. "You're, what, a 36?"

"I'm nineteen," Adam replied tersely.

"I mean your waist."

"Oh." He flushed. "I think so." He hadn't bought a new pair of jeans in a long time and he was sure their size wore off long ago.

She moved to the back of the mannequin and gently pulled back the lining of the waist to read the label. He waited, feeling impatient as he did, as she smiled just a little from the satisfaction of whatever it was she was doing.

"You're in luck," she said. "Just your size."

"Shit," the word just came out of him. "Really?"

She said nothing on the matter and instead unzipped the pants and pulled them down the mannequin's legs, undressing it to be practically bare. He had a little over a minute left to change when she handed the pants over, creases on point.

"Enjoy whatever thrill you're getting out of this," she said, and he flashed her a Ronan style grin before fast walking away.

He turned back the direction they came from where he last remembered seeing some changing rooms. When he spotted them he very nearly ran, straight into one of the rooms and then closing the curtains. He dumped everything on the floor including his phone, screen up so it could still see, awkward as it was.

He pulled off his hoodie and shirt and then put on the Givenchy tee and Tom Ford leather jacket, both fitting him forebodingly well. He then kicked off his shoes and wiggled out of his jeans, with only ten seconds to spare he never changed into a pair of pants faster. He didn't even bother finishing the zip before bursting back out the dressing room and showing off the outfit.

"Finished finished finished," he said.

He almost threw up from relief when the screen said Dare Complete.

He collapsed into a chair just outside his dressing room and decided he was never doing anything like this again. Racing the clock was exhausting. He could feel every muscle and vein in his body and they were all throbbing from shock.

"Shit shit shit," he said, along with a string of other small curses that he could see were insulting the other shoppers. Then he heard a snort coming from the dressing room next to his. He sat upright quick.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" The curtain was flung open and out came Ronan in the suit they picked for him, not quite fitted but definitely hugging the best places. It was a dark blue and snug and fancy and Ronan looked like a wolf in sheep's clothing in the best way possible.

"I don't talk to my mother," Adam said, when really he wanted to tell Ronan how hot he found him. In this and in anything.

Ronan looked to notice the subject was touchy and he instead raised one eyebrow above the other. "You kiss _me_ with that mouth?"

"I can tell you've said much worse," Adam replied, and he almost reached for Ronan's tie.

"I never said it was a bad thing," and Ronan then pulled Adam to his feet. He twirled him around and Adam felt like he were on display for the world, but neither had their phones out. This was just them.

"You look fucking good, Parrish," said Ronan. Adam found it in himself to grin, to relax, to let go and have fun again. Real fun. That scavenger hunt was terrifying, but the memory of it was distancing itself and instead he was focusing on the way Ronan was staring at him.

"You don't look half bad yourself," said Adam, and reflexively he went and touched down the length of Ronan's tie. It was silk. "Though I do prefer you in the leather jacket."

Ronan ran a hand along the shoulder of Adam's jacket, and mumbled, "So do I..."

Adam pushed his hand off playfully, thinking he was kidding, because he had to be. When Adam looked in the mirror he felt like he was wearing a Halloween costume. This wasn't him. The slacks were tight and the shirt was small, but here he was.

Then there Ronan was, appearing behind him, head just at his shoulders, hands at his arms. They looked good together.

"You know what you're missing?"

"A rebellious nature and Daddy's credit card?" Adam said snidely. In the reflection, he could see Ronan smirking beside him.

"I was going to say shoes." He then pulled out his phone again and started filming them. Adam's stomach dropped. He wondered how much of this was for the stupid game. "Let's go find you some fancy shoes. That's my next dare."

"These dares are pretty basic," Adam noticed. "Why is that?"

"Dunno. Some people got weird kinks."

Adam snorted and followed him downstairs. As he was trying on different types of shoes, Ronan was filming the whole thing. Adam was appreciative of his effort to wear his good socks today, no holes in the toes or the heels.

Ronan loomed above him as he tried on a $3000 pair of sneakers. What, were they made of crushed diamonds? Rich people were fucking wasteful of their money. They fit nice, though, he hated to admit.

"So you like Latin, huh?" Ronan asked.

"Studied it in high school," Adam said. He finished tying the last of the two sneakers and rose up to walk around in them. They were ugly and high tops with this weird flap on the sides.

"Me too," Ronan said, and Adam's attention was drawn back to him. He was staring again, as he said, " _Auribus teneo lupum."_

"Holding a wolf by the ears," Adam translated. He was impressed, and Ronan appeared to be as well.

"You _do_ know your Latin." His eyes went longingly up and down Adam, like the wolf in the Latin phrase. "Well done. What else do you like?"

"Science," said Adam. "Engineering. I'm thinking of trying to work for NASA someday."

"I knew you were an Einstein," said Ronan, sounding like he made a bet with himself he just won.

"Is that a bad thing?" Adam wouldn't allow himself to feel self conscious about what Ronan thought.

"Fuck no." Ronan shook his head. "You want to go places, and be someone I bet. Me? I just want to get off the island, maybe move somewhere with land again."

Adam moved to sit down, and they switched places, Ronan on his feet again, still filming. It was really hard to try to ignore that this was all being recorded, but if Ronan was to win that extra $100 and possibly not lose the rest, he needed to film this.

"Are you in-?"

"College?" Ronan's interest briefly peaked and then fell as he shook his head. "Nah. Not my scene. I'm too pretty for college."

Without meaning to, Adam laughed a little too long and Ronan looked to get embarrassed. He twitched a hand to rub the back of his neck, still recording but not quite looking himself.

"So what am I, chopped liver?" Adam said, expectant of him to play along. Ronan finally eyed him again, and he noticed him twitch a smile.

"Is that a Peanuts reference?" he said.

Adam smiled proudly, sitting up. "It is," he said.

Ronan smiled back a little wider. "Nice." He then looked at his phone and went to grab the box on top of the pile he asked for earlier. In it were a pair of very expensive looking dress shoes. They were shiny and leather and red.

"For you," Ronan said and when he offered them to him he bowed his head.

Adam played along, taking them with both hands. "Aw, you shouldn't have," he replied. Ronan smirked as he sat down next to him, still filming at him as he toed off the sneakers to try these on for size. They matched the color of the Givenchy shirt, and Adam thought that whoever was dressing him certainly had a sense of style. He wondered why they weren't finishing up Ronan's ensemble, but then again the boots did look good with his suit. In a very fashionable fuck you pretentious people type of way.

He stood up when he was finished, and then walked around a little. The leather squeaked a bit as he moved, but otherwise he felt like he was walking in butter. They felt really nice, nicer than the sneakers he had with the soles starting to peel and the back of the heels wearing out.

"You look...." Ronan was staring at him like he came out of the shower or something. It was just shoes being added to his ensemble. The rest was always there. But he let him look, running a hand over any wrinkles in his shirt. He felt adventurous as he stared sharply at him, catching his eye.

"I look what? Like chopped liver?" he repeated.

Ronan swallowed. "Like, really fucking hot."

Face alight with heat, limbs a little jittery with nerves, Adam was flattered. He could say the same for Ronan, and so he did.

"You're not so bad yourself." He managed to tease out a smile from him, a shy one where his dimples barely appeared as he looked down. "You're even more attractive when you're not talking," he added.

At that, a hint of color snaked up Ronan's neck and into the tips of his ears. He ducked his head and rested it in his hand. "Fuck you," he said, with no malice behind it. Adam grinned like he pulled off something better than a dare, and then Ronan was looking down at his phone. "Come on. We should get out of these clothes. Find something better to do."

"Okay."

After changing back into his sneakers, they walked quietly to the dressing rooms, huddled together as if there weren't any space to walk. Ronan was texting someone on his phone, a Noah with a ghost emoji next to his name. He tried not to spy, but he couldn't help himself. At the least, he avoided seeing the conversation, though he couldn't help but notice his name before he dropped his gaze.

"Lynch," he said, and Ronan looked up from his phone. "How long do we have to play this?"

"Until we either lose or quit," Ronan answered. "The whole thing ends tomorrow morning, I think. Until next year."

Adam didn't realize it was only a temporary thing. But it made sense. Couldn't go on forever without draining bank accounts and souls.

Adam didn't know which he would prefer happen, that he quit or lost or time simply ran out. He couldn't fathom doing this until the morning, but maybe if he were with Ronan the whole time...

Just before they split to go into their separate rooms they both paused to look at the other, as if to get last looks.

Adam wanted to tell him he didn't have to hang out with him all night if he didn't want to. But he didn't know how to say it without feeling like he was secretly asking him to want to. He said nothing and dipped his head in through the curtains to change. Immediately he froze. Everything was gone. His wallet. His keys. His clothes.

"The fuck," he hissed, and he ran back out of his room, to check the next one over and then the next. They weren't anywhere.

Ronan came out of his and looked like the same thing happened to him.

"Everything gone?"

Ronan merely nodded, looking dumbstruck.

At the same time, their phones beeped, and they both looked down. Like a bucket of ice water was being dunked on his head, a cold, bone deep shiver racked through him from head to toe. He felt the blood leave his body as the words blinked on screen in neon yellow, and he very nearly dropped his phone.

 

 _Leave the store_ \- $5,000

 

"You get it too?" Ronan asked. Adam nodded. He looked about as excited to complete this as Adam felt. He knew they would need to leave the store eventually, but this game was seriously fucked up. They stole their clothes. They wanted them to steal these. The clothes on their backs cost more than he would make on this one dare alone. He could throw up. He was going to throw up.

"Adam?" There were hands on his shoulders guiding him down into a seat. He was quivering at the thought of a police report with his name on it. NASA probably didn't hire people with criminal backgrounds. He didn't want a criminal background irregardless. This.... This was shit. The room was spinning and he closed his eyes.

"Adam, you okay?"

He was not okay. He was spiraling.

"This isn't me," he said, and he wanted to say it to the people on the game but it was good they weren't listening, it was good he was alone with Ronan instead. "I'm not this person. I'm not spontaneous. I'm not fun. I analyze things and plan things out and come up with different solutions in this this or that happens and-"

"Listen to me." And Ronan was in his headspace, his words clear cutting through Adam's anxiety riddled thoughts like a blade cutting through the thicket of green in the woods. When he opened his eyes, he was in his line of sight too. He was knelt on the floor on his knees in front of him looking up at him, the sight of which was a decent enough distraction for a few seconds to clear his head. "You _are_ spontaneous," he said, and he offered a hand which Adam took gladly, warm and rough and solid. "You _are_ fun. And it can be fun to be those other things too. It's smarter, that's for sure. This is the intention of the game, to make you second guess yourself, to do things you otherwise wouldn't do. If it were a game where everyone did what they felt comfortable doing, it would bankrupt the fucking city." He then looked around, and Adam was getting lost again in his head. "Though maybe it should."

"I can't do this," Adam whispered. "As much as I would _love_ to take something from here for myself, I am not shoplifting. I'd rather earn this the right way."

"You know you're better than this place and its crap," Ronan replied.

"Excuse me?" Adam frowned.

"You deserve more than shitty places like this," Ronan went on. "They're fake and pompous and full of douches that didn't even earn their money they inherited it. You deserve something that's real. You deserve better than this shitty game."

Adam didn't know how to respond to this. The fact the words held meaning to him was a lot to take in. The fact that Ronan said them with genuine interest was a lot, too.

"You say that because you can afford it," he replied bitterly.

"If I could afford it here I wouldn't be playing nerve, would I?" Ronan said it with just enough of a bite in his words Adam knew he insulted him a little in return, which was his intention but only when he thought he was a pretty rich boy. Guess he was just pretty.

"I assumed you play for the thrills," Adam admitted.

"I need this same as you," said Ronan.

Adam felt known somehow and it was so strange to be known by a stranger. To be known by Ronan.

"Come on." Ronan tapped at the side of his knee to get up. Adam stood, but he wasn't stealing. "We can maybe explain the situation and get out of this.

"You mean quit?" Adam couldn't quite now. This was $5,000 he was asked to say no to.

"Well, what do you suggest we do, Einstein?" Ronan snapped, but he knew he was more upset with the situation than with him.

Something clicked in Adam when he remembered the specific wording in the message. Leave the store. That's all it said.

"They didn't say we had to leave wearing these clothes," Adam said, with a smile starting to split on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hello again welcome. it's /almost/ a week since last time. i'm gonna ~try~ to keep this to one chapter a week schedule, but we'll see how that goes? lol
> 
> thank you for reading hope you enjoyed it :)
> 
> feel free to leave comments, feedback, kudos bc i thrive off these and love hearing what you have to say <3
> 
> ps sorry for not getting back to everyone's comments on the last chapter right away i am definitely slow at responding back but i read them all and they all mean so much thank you <3


	3. the dilemma of stealing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was so open and honest. Adam envied it a little. He wanted to tell Ronan more of himself but he didn't know if it was the time to. If he really could.
> 
> "How much do you have so far?" he said instead.
> 
> "After tonight I'll have enough."

They both went into the same dressing room and awkwardly undressed together, and then each accepted the dare when they were done.

"You sure about this?"

Nervously, Adam allowed himself a moment to gather courage to walk out of the room in just his underwear and sneakers. He eyed Ronan in his briefs and boots, adorned with several tattoos, one of which swallowed up his whole back. He was soaking in the sight of every muscle and bare bit of him, from his strong arms to his hairy legs. Ronan seemed to be doing the same, taking in his more freckled, refined form. He stood there a little prouder than before when Ronan's eyes kept catching.

"Stop staring and get us out of here," said Adam. He allowed himself the brief reprisal of pleasure when he raked his eyes down again over Ronan, front and back. God.

Without speaking, Ronan took his hand and poked his head out the curtains. He looked back and him and suggested it was all clear. They tiptoed out of there, leaving all their fancy clothes behind. Adam only missed them in the basic sense of missing not being almost naked. It was colder in the store without any clothes.

Their phones were out recording this, but their main focus was of course escape. They slipped through different rooms when no one was around, and then slithered by people when their backs were turned. It was all going fairly well. But they were running out of time and the elevator was across the store.

Adam clung to the back of Ronan and could feel the warm skin of his back against his front, almost forgetting they were undressed like this. It was exhilarating in a perilous way, like playing with matches or poking at a snake, to lean against Ronan like he was leaning. It seemed to be a distraction for them both because after a few seconds Ronan turned back to him and stared for a length, not moving or saying anything.

The game was still a fucking nightmare on his anxiety, but again he saw the upside of it in the way Ronan's blue eyes reflected his own, and he could see Ronan's interest growing and intensifying same as he could feel his own inside himself. He moved into him when-

"Hey! What do you two think you're doing?" An employee spotted them and they flinched.

"Run."

Ronan was laughing as he held tighter at Adam's hand and broke for the elevator again, this time not caring where they stepped or who they passed. He pulled Adam along through the mannequins and the shoppers, hopped over displays and tables. Adam followed through on everything, really feeling like this was an obstacle course now as they barreled through the rooms.

The elevator opened up as they moved to reach it, and they cut off a pair of old women who looked downright horrified at the sight of them.

Adam waved awkwardly when the door shut closed.

In the elevator they managed to catch their breath for only a second. As they declined against the wall, laughing like two school children getting away with skipping school, Adam turned to look at him as Ronan was looking back. He wondered what it would be like to kiss him without being under the guise of the game. He dipped his head forward, spontaneously allowing himself to find out. The doors pulled open on the third floor and not the first, and they were met with security on the other side.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes." Adam wasn't sure why he agreed so suddenly, but somehow he trusted Ronan. A gut feeling.

Ronan immediately collapsed on the ground, having fainted.

"What-?" The guards all shoved past him to check, and Adam was pushed out of the elevator before he could say anything. He was running out of time to win, but Ronan just fainted and he wasn't about to leave him behind. Security formed a wall around Ronan to check if he was okay, and Adam knew if he wanted he could run down the escalators and be out, but was he really going to do that?

On the ground, he caught Ronan open his eyes and then wink at him. He was faking. Oh thank god.

Adam thought fast on his feet and then eyed the fire alarm not far from the elevator doors. He ran to it and pulled it, praying the fire department wouldn't be needed elsewhere when he did. Security all looked up and Ronan jumped back onto his feet and knocked them over to get out.

Free, he grabbed Adam's hand as the sound of the alarm overwhelmed their ears. They broke for the escalator, still filming, and with only a couple minutes left on the clock they very gently pushed past people on their way down the stairs.

It was a mess of bodies heading for the exit as they turned fast and went to the next escalator down. Adam felt he made a mess of it having pulled the fire alarm, but it was the only thing he could think of without leaving Ronan behind.

Ronan maneuvered through the crowd, still holding Adam's hand through it, as they weaved around the small spaces and gaps between the bodies. It was claustrophobic and painful, but they shoved through and out the door. The crowd of shoppers spread out along the sidewalk and the edge of the street, but they didn't stop there. Ronan ran with Adam back to his bike, and with seconds to spare their dare was complete.

"Fucking god, that was exhilarating!" Ronan shouted out at the sky as he still stood there half naked. People were eyeing them both as Adam put a hand over his own chest and groin. "Fuck, my heart is about to jump out of my chest. I've never had that much fun playing the game before."

Adam was breathless and cold but the adrenaline was running through him again, and seeing Ronan's full smile was enough to make him willing to maybe risk another dare.

"Mine, too," he said. Ronan laughed at the impossible, as the night was opening up to endless possibilities. He almost shouted out into the night, himself.

"Hey, look." Ronan picked up a bag that hung over a handle on his motorcycle. It was from the department store they just emptied out.

"Is it our clothes?" Adam was all too hopeful.

Ronan lifted out their wallets and their keys, but when his hand reached into the bag a third time he pulled out another copy of the Tom Ford leather jacket. Without thinking, he grabbed it and the other things he had to wear before and put them on, in disbelief he was currently dressing in the street. Ronan did the same, ditching the tie behind for a messier look.

"Did someone steal these for us?" Adam was surprised, and a little disappointed his clothes were still gone. Those were his favorite jeans.

"Relax," said Ronan. He lifted up a receipt from within the bag. "Someone bought them."

" _ Who _ ?"

"Probably one of the creeps who's watching."

Adam shivered. "Gross."

"Why are you pouting?" Ronan noted Adam's disappointment, even though he should be happy. That last challenge earned them each $5000. "You're currently wearing an entire semester of tuition on you."

"I miss  _ my _ clothes," Adam said.

Ronan frowned. He could see he missed his too. "The price of playing the game," he said.

"Here." Adam felt like some things could be switched around now that they were theirs. Adam took off his leather jacket and put it on Ronan. It fit him a little better than it did Adam, or maybe that was because he liked leather jackets more than Adam did. "You look better in it anyway."

Ronan gave him a sharp smile. "Thanks. Take my jacket," he offered.

They looked ridiculous when the exchange was through, but Adam was warmer now and clothed and in the end he admitted he did look pretty hot in what he was wearing.

"What now?" Adam asked.

"You hungry at all?"

"Weren't you just at a diner?"

Ronan rolled his eyes. "Can't ever eat too much," he replied.

"Uh," Adam laughed, "yeah you can. It's an epidemic in America."

Ronan rolled his eyes again. "Smartass. Do you want food or not?"

"I could go for pizza."

He didn't even blink this time as he was offered Ronan's second motorcycle helmet.

 

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

 

They drove through the city, awaiting their next dare if it were to ever come. Adam clung to Ronan's back, gazing out at the city as they passed through streets of traffic and tourism. He liked him. He really genuinely liked him. Adam hadn't liked anyone like this since, well, that brief time he dated Blue. But this was different. This was broad shoulders and wry smiles and bad jokes and piercing eyes. Ronan was not what he was expecting tonight, and he held him tighter on a curve, glad he could.

Neon lights illuminated the street they pulled into and slowed down on, a line of restaurants catching their eye. They pulled into a parking space down the street, and Adam felt less loose and wobbly this time around when he got off the back of the bike.

Still no dares, they each grabbed a slice of pizza and ice cold water, Adam knowing that soda wouldn't settle their nerves. They walked along the stretch of tables outside and sat in one that was free. Ronan's eyes were dancing with color from the lights reflecting off them. They were open and inviting the longer he stared, until he realized he  _ was _ staring, and then he dropped his eyes to the bubbling cheese of his pizza.

This was the first real part of the night not defined by rules or games or dares.

Neither of them looked to be speaking first about what they really wanted to stay, instead just eyeing each other quietly across the small table. Adam felt Ronan's boot against his sneaker, and he didn't mind it in the least. Then Ronan said a joke, a really dumb joke that was about nothing, and Adam laughed at it, not because it was funny but because of how terrible it was. He learned that Ronan's bad jokes came sometimes with an intentional hit on his own pride, and he would level up whenever Adam laughed at one of them. Adam made several remarks about how terrible these jokes were, and Ronan would pout or try to think of something more clever. It was nice, to bond and to begin to know one another. Adam couldn't believe how nice a time he was having.

When they were left to pick at their empty paper plates and half empty water cups, Adam finally gave in to say something more substantial.

"How does the game know so much about us, down to my pants size?" It couldn't have been a coincidence the pants on that mannequin fit him.

"The app gathers all your online information into one place, from your social media sites to search history to amazon to your bank account to even neopets," said Ronan.

"I didn't have neopets."

Ronan stared at him like he didn't believe him. He almost laughed at the absurdity of the suggestion.

"It builds a profile from all your other profiles, so it knows exactly how to play you specifically."

It was eerie. So eerie.

"And somehow it knew we both liked Latin," said Adam. And it couldn't have been a coincidence that it would know their sexual preferences. "So, what, it's a matchmaking app now too?"

"Maybe." Ronan grinned at the thought while Adam was trying not to blush again. "It's sort of working isn't it?"

Adam was so unbearably nervous he could feel it as his skin prickled with goosebumps. He chewed on his straw and stared down at his greasy plate, craving a second slice of pizza but afraid of touching the money he earned just yet. He wouldn't until it was over.

"Why are you playing?" Ronan asked. A red taillight from a car nearby illuminated his face with harsh lighting same as before with his speedometer. He didn't look as provoking now, though. Just a teenage boy staring back at him with nice eyes.

"I need the money for college," he said. "I start in the fall."

"Didn't want to go the hooker route?"

Adam reached to slap at his shoulder. "They're called escorts," he corrected, even though that wasn't an answer to his question.

"So you thought about it?" Ronan teased.

" _ No _ ," Adam said quite defiantly. He almost choked on a sip of water. "Why are  _ you _ playing?" he said, putting the question back on him.

"To afford my way off the island," said Ronan. His confession came with a change of expression, eyes less soft and overall less bright. "I share an apartment with my brothers and mom. We grew up on a farm before, but then my dad died and he was shit at finances so we lost all of it. This is my way of trying to earn it all back, for all of us."

He was so open and honest. Adam envied it a little. He wanted to tell Ronan more of himself but he didn't know if it was the time to. If he really could.

"How much do you have so far?" he said instead.

"After tonight I'll have enough."

"Wow. Really?" Adam didn't know what else to say. That sounded almost impossible.

"I've been playing for a week," Ronan reminded him.

Adam didn't want to know what he had to do for a whole week to earn that kind of cash. To buy a farm. He was impressed and a little horrified, horrified at the game and its ability to control them to do this for money. At least he didn't need to earn that much. Just enough for housing. That was... something. Ronan was a constant surprise.

"Where are you going for college?" Ronan asked.

"Columbia."

Ronan's brow rose a little. "I may have heard of it..." he said. He was playing with the napkin he crumpled up earlier, picking at the edges and watching a few of them flutter away in the cool breezes.

"That's littering," said Adam. Ronan promptly stopped and tucked the rest of the napkin under his plate.

"My apologies to nature," Ronan said. He turned to face the street. "I'm sorry, nature."

"Don't be an asshole," Adam said. He barely got through half of the sentence before snickering a little. Ronan flashed him another of his smiles as he leaned back into his seat.

He felt a lurch in his gut when he realized that Ronan lived just outside the city, and he was moving here soon, but that Ronan planned to leave Staten Island, which meant if... if he wanted this to go beyond tonight things were going to be tricky.

"Where would you move to?" he said, letting his curiosity get the better of him.

"Just upstate." He shrugged. "Not far, ideally. I like being close to my family, to my mom."

Adam finished up his water as he thought of what else to say. To want to be near someone like that sounded wonderful. He was jealous.

"Must be nice having a family you want to be with," he admitted aloud. "I'm not the same. I can't wait to escape the same town as them. Counting down the days."

He began to play with the straw in its hole at the lid of his cup, moving it around between the ice cubes not yet melted. Across from him, Ronan remained silent. He was grateful for that, to let them sit there in the silence. His eyes turned down to his straw, the squeaks it made as it pushed against the plastic.

"I'm slowly building myself a new life that doesn't connect to them in any way," he said, feeling pride from that fact, almost bragging. "One they can't ruin or taint. The money from this would help me out a lot. That's really why I'm playing."

"Adam...."

"No, don't." He waved his hand in front of his face. Somehow Ronan dragged that out of him without even trying. He felt a different sort of high when he said it, one just as fantastic as when he rode on the back of that motorcycle. "Let's- Let's talk about something else. You're good at that. Distracting me."

He lifted his eyes up to Ronan's to see him already looking back. There was so much unsaid in that gaze, which they held for a while as cars and people both passed. Finally Ronan gave a tiny nod and then tapped his fingers against the top of the table.

"So that kiss...." he said.

"Rocked your world, didn't I?" Adam joked. Ronan wasn't smiling, though. He was void of expression as he settled his eyes heavily in a stare that did not waver.

"How much of it was the dare and how much of it was real?" Alarmed by the statement, Adam broke their gaze and refocused his attention on his cup. "Was any of it?"

Don't be a coward, he thought. Be honest. Be real.

Slowly, he looked back up from his cup and wondered what answer Ronan wanted him to give. What a distraction this was. This was definitely not the game, but the game was still very much a part of their night.

Their phones beeped and interrupted them, and Adam couldn't be sure if he were relieved or annoyed. He looked down at his screen same as Ronan did with his own.

 

_ Get a tattoo (roughly the size of a credit card). @ _ **_greywaren_ ** _ has to pick it _ . - $3500

 

"Who is greywaren?" Adam asked, same time as he looked up.

"Me," said Ronan. "Is it-?"

"The tattoo thing?" Adam gulped. "Yeah."

Ronan was looking to him for how to proceed. With a flick of his finger, Adam hit accept.

"Just don't give me one with words," he asked.

"You got it, magician."

Adam covered his face in his hands to hide his blush. "My friend Blue picked that out for me," he said. "It's what they call me sometimes."

"It sounds pretty accurate," said Ronan.

This was his favorite high, the way his heart rate escalated when Ronan looked at him like he was looking at him now, the things he said, the way a smile twitched on both their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note: i've gotten so lazy at titles lmao
> 
> thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed it. i love comments and feedback and kudos <3


	4. the magician

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Nothing stupid," Adam reminded him.
> 
> "So a dick is out of the question?"
> 
> Adam shoved at him and he snickered a little, falling back into step. "I'm serious," Adam said.
> 
> "So was I....."

The tattoo parlor they were given the address for was drowning in neon. Adam felt like he was stepping onto another planet, the glow intense and blinding.

_ Cabeswater Tattoos _ was a little hole in the wall tattoo parlor back behind a smoke shop, the hall between the two brightly lit with a thousand mini Christmas lights on the ceiling, twinkling different colors in a sea of light. They stopped at the edge of it before walking forward, Adam riddled with nerves about the idea of getting a tattoo, especially one he didn't even get to pick.

"Do you trust me?" Ronan asked a second time that night. He was looking wicked with an impish grin and a spark in his eyes that said he had a trick up his sleeve. He offered up his hand and Adam took it carefully, letting his fingers spread apart so Ronan's could fit between the spaces. The neon lights bounced off their skin in an array of color he was mesmerized by.

"Nothing stupid," Adam reminded him.

"So a dick is out of the question?"

Adam shoved at him and he snickered a little, falling back into step. "I'm serious," Adam said.

"So was I....."

Ronan wasn't always funny. If he got Adam a tattoo of a penis he was going to kill him. "If you're going to make jokes-"

"I'll stop." Their conjoined hands were brought up to his lips and he kissed at the back of Adam's hand. "Okay, I promise I'll be good. I already have a perfect one in mind."

To avoid letting his mind become fogged with the feeling of his lips against skin, Adam cleared his throat and let their hands fall back down.

"Will you tell me what it is?" he asked. Ronan turned to him with another devilish smile.

"What's the fun in that?"

He offered his hand to Adam and Adam took it. He was going to regret this, wasn't he?

They were walking through the long, winding hall when Adam's phone rang.

He barely got out a hello when she blurted out, "Oh my god Adam are you really getting a tattoo?" she said.

"How do you-?"

"We paid to watch you," said Blue.

"Tell that hot boy hello for me," Henry yelled through the phone. That peeked Ronan's interest, who must have heard him and whipped his head around to smirk. Adam rolled his eyes and turned away a little.

"You paid to watch me play this game? That's a little creepy, Blue."

"Someone in Seattle died playing this game last year," she said. "Don't give into peer pressure."

"Don't listen to her," Henry said. "Do what you want to do. Have fun. You're young and single and can make your own conscious decisions. Also, you rascal, I can't believe I just watched my friend run around a department store in his underwear."

Adam stopped walking. "Did you really see all that?"

Ronan doubled back to him as he realized he stopped, hands slipping back into his to try to pull him along. But Adam wasn't budging, as he gave Ronan his back, trying to hear his friends over the music on their end of the line.

"Where are you?"

"Still at Nino's. Apparently after nine this place becomes a karaoke bar. It's really sad."

He suddenly could hear with perfect precision someone wailing "Like a Virgin" in the background.

"You have fifty thousand viewers dude," Henry then added. "Watching you two give each other bedroom eyes."

It had been a while since Adam bothered looking at the view count. Hearing how many  people were watching was startling, and Adam looked to Ronan, wide eyed.

_ What?  _ Ronan mouthed.

"We have fifty thousand viewers," Adam said out loud.

Ronan fleetingly looked uncomfortable and then made it where his chest was puffed out, acting cocky about it all. "Like what they see, do they?" he said, but Adam could still see the glimmer of discomfort.

He pretended he did, playing along as he rolled his eyes. "Probably wonder how you can be such a dumbass."

Ronan frowned. "Hey."

"When are you coming back?" Blue asked.

"I'm not sure," Adam confessed. It depended on two things: the depths the dares would ask him to go, and Ronan.

When he looked back at him, he found him making incredibly stupid faces at him like a child. Unable to help himself, he snorted.

"Don't let his good looks fool you, Adam," Blue warned. "You don't even know him."

"Blue, please." He didn't want them to damper his mood like this. He understood where Blue was coming from, but he didn't want to stop now.

"Come home," Blue pleaded. "You don't need to make the money like this."

"I actually agree with her on this one," said Henry, and he seemed to take over the phone, it shuffling around a bit in the possible exchange. "You're getting some seriously wild dares. I changed my mind. Tap out, man. Just make out with that dude until you get bored."

"Henry!" Blue wailed.

"I can help you out for what the scholarship isn't paying," Henry offered.

"I don't want to do that," Adam said flatly. He offered it to him before. It felt like charity when he offered.

Ronan then mouthed  _ What are they saying _ ?

_ They're worried it's gonna get too dangerous _ , Adam mouthed back. He knew Ronan warned him of the same thing before, and he expected him to tell it to him again.

"Well, what do you want to do?" he said out loud instead. Rarely did people seem to ask him that. They all came up with their own decisions for him, and even if they often meant well like Henry and Blue, he wanted something for once to be his choice.

Adam felt himself grin before he realized he was doing it. He couldn't stop smiling around him.

"I want to stay," he said. He wanted the money.

At once, Ronan inclined into him. He missed half of what Blue and Henry were saying to him on the other end as the phone slipped out from his ear, and as everything around them was tuned out from the simple touch of Ronan against his shoulder. He registered Ronan was leaning in and reaching for his phone all too late, and then Ronan was taking his phone from him and he allowed him to do it.

"What are you-?"

"Goodbye, Adam's friends," Ronan said.

"Bye," Adam said almost mechanically. He allowed Ronan to hang up. "Sorry," Ronan said. "There may not be an official time limit on this one, but watchers get bored."

Adam clumsily nodded and they continued on, hands finding each other again in the quiet.

Inside the shop they learned the tattoo was apparently free, because of course it was. It was quiet inside, tranquil almost, the opposite of what Adam expected from a tattoo place. He felt calm in it, as he was sat down on a table and asked where he was going to have it. He patted at his chest and Ronan looked mildly disappointed.

"Was hoping I would choose my ass, huh?" Adam smirked up at him. "Maybe next time."

He then peeled off his shirt and motioned again where he wanted it.

"Do you guys know what you want?"

Ronan had sketched something out when they first arrived, but didn't show Adam and wouldn't until it was over.

"Yeah, here." Ronan handed the sketch over to the tattoo artist. Adam tried to peek, but felt Ronan tilt his chin back his direction. He was filming all of this on Adam's phone, for the dare.

"You ready?" Ronan asked him.

Adam was jittery with nerves but he wasn't afraid. "Yeah."

One of their phone's beeped, and Ronan fetched his phone from his pocket. The artist started to doodle on his chest with a pen and Adam turned to look, but then Ronan turned his chin to him again.

"They want me to blindfold you," he said. He didn't sound very enthused about it.

"That's oddly kinky."

Ronan broke a little and almost looked to smile, but instead he just looked only a little bit less resigned as before.

"You're okay with it?"

"Yeah." Adam shrugged. "Oh shit. Did I mess up the sketch?"

He moved to look again and then was enveloped in complete darkness. It was a slight tint of red, which meant Ronan put his new shirt over his eyes. He wasn't scared.

And then he heard the whirring sound of the ink needle and he was a little scared.

"Is it the sound?" Ronan asked. Adam nodded, barely at that. He was paranoid whatever was about to be drawn on him was going to get fucked up if he moved.

"Here. I'll play something so you can't hear it."

"I'll feel it though-  _ ow _ ."

It started. He felt the brush of Ronan's hand on his arm, moving down to touch his hand, and then he squeezed it.

"At least it's not a full back tattoo with heavy shading," he said. Adam almost laughed but it hurt to. He could feel the vibration of the needle down to his bone and all the way up to his teeth, as the needle pulled at his skin like someone was pinching it back. Fuck. It was a weird sensation more than anything, the sound definitely a factor into his discomfort.

"What do your tattoos mean?" Adam asked, referencing the collection he saw earlier on Ronan's body. He had the large one on his back and then one on his chest and another on his upper bicep.

"The back one is a long story I will tell you another time," said Ronan, and Adam could sense that he meant it. "But the one on my arm is for my mom. She's always been supportive of me in everything I do and I wanted to memorialize that." If Adam remembered correctly it was of the aurora borealis in the sky, with a couple trees underneath for context.

"Shocked you didn't just get a heart with Mom written in the center of it," said Adam.

"Too obvious," said Ronan. He could hear his already infamous smile in his voice. "She loves those lights. Said she was named after them."

"And the ghost with the crown?"

"Both of my best friends had near death experiences, and it was a funny and stupid way to commemorate it. Noah, one of them, was the one who suggested the tattoo actually. Has the same thing on his skateboard. He says hi by the way."

"I've never met him," Adam replied. "Why's he saying hi?"

"They're at a party right now. Like your friends, they're fascinated with the whole nerve thing and watching me suffer. Bunch of assholes." He raised his voice a little at the end, and Adam suspected he was talking into the phone recording to do so.

"I see. Well, I mean I can't currently see- You get it." Adam couldn't stop focusing on the incessant sound of the needle as it dug at his skin, and Ronan was touching him at the arm again. He must have sensed the tension and rigidness building in his body from the pain matched with the sound.

"Hold on," he said. "I have the perfect thing."

"Please don't be anymore jokes about-"

And then Ronan's music started playing near his good ear, completely drowning out all other sounds. It was just coincidence and luck it was his good ear, the one next to Ronan, and he immediately started to sing along to the music as a way of distraction. Or, well, rap to it.

"You listen to Tupac?" Ronan sounded impressed. Adam wished he could see his face as he didn't respond, merely kept rapping the lyrics to "Only God Can Judge Me". "Shit. You know all the lyrics."

"Your boyfriend can  _ rap _ ," the tattoo artist laughed. Adam couldn't tell what Ronan's reaction to that once since he couldn't see, but he was allowing himself to smile a little. Then the pain came again when he briefly stopped rapping. He picked it back up as Ronan's hand returned to his.

" _ That which does not kill me can only make me stronger. And I don't see why everybody feel as though. That they gotta tell me how to live my life. Let me live baby, let me live _ ."

"Fuck," he heard Ronan mutter under his breath. "You're amazing."

Adam's smile became wild, as it stretched out on his face like a string being pulled on either end. He tilted his chin toward where he suspected Ronan was still standing, and he reached for him with his one hand, making sure to keep his other side very still for his tattoo. He hissed out a curse as it stung near his collarbone, forgetting that it would hurt more where there was less between the top layers of flesh and bone.

The song ended as Ronan moved into his hand, taking it and running his thumb around the center of Adam's palm.

What was this? Why did it feel so wonderful? He felt that high again he felt when Ronan smiled at him, even though he couldn't see.

"Want another song?" Ronan asked. "Any requests?"

"Express Yourself?" Adam suggested. He winced and his grip around Ronan's hand tightened.

"By N.W.A.?"

"I like 80s and 90s rap," said Adam. "So what?"

"You're a constant surprise, Parrish." Ronan said it with wonder as he pulled his hand free to like use the phone to type. His hand returned for Adam to use and squeeze as the N.W.A. hit classic song started to play, and he started to rap again.

When it was all over, his shoulder hurt like hell, raw and weak, but he was excited to see what Ronan picked out for him. His shirt was lifted off his eyes after a few more songs, one of which Ronan attempted to join in on, but he wasn't quick enough and only knew half the lyrics anyway. It was hilarious but cute that he tried.

Then Adam was offered a mirror to see the tattoo.

"There you go," the tattoo artist said. He left them alone to check out what he had done. Instantly Adam's eyes fell to the pinkened skin newly inked and almost reacted out loud with a gasp. It was roughly the size of a credit card like it was advised, and it was all his. Ronan created this for him.

A tree branch and a sword were joining at the ends in a loose x design with the infinity sign above them. Adam knew Blue and her family of psychics long enough to already know what it was referencing.

"For the magician," Ronan said, explaining to him anyway. He traced the infinity sign on the opposite side of Adam's chest from the tattoo.

He used to think himself unknowable, but Ronan was proving that wrong tonight. He very nearly grabbed him by the shirtfront and pulled him into another kiss, but he didn't want to make out in front of the camera. These watcher people weren't getting to see that twice.

"Okay." Adam rose from the table and patted it so Ronan could be the one to lie down now. "Your turn."

To his surprise, even though Ronan rolled his eyes at the gesture, he moved to lay down. Adam stood above him, feeling powerful. His amusement was on full display as he looked down, Ronan gazing back up. The tattoo artist was still out, so it was just them.

"What'll you do to me?" Ronan said. He feigned fear in a way that made Adam laugh. He hadn't laughed so much in one evening in ages.

"I was thinking a big penis tattoo on the center of your stomach," said Adam, and he ran his finger over the space of where he wanted this pretend tattoo to go.

Ronan laughed, and Adam could feel the tremor of it against his hand. He tilted his head back as he laughed more, and Adam wondered what he would do if he bent down and ran his tongue along the roof of Ronan's mouth.

Their phones beep the monotone ring from nerve.

Adam groaned, as he stood back and watched Ronan lift himself off the table.

"Another time, Parrish," he said, as if he could read his mind. His gaze purposefully held above Adam's neckline. "Put on a shirt."

Defiant, Adam elevated his eyebrow to Ronan's needless staring, and thought of making a joke, but then he was reading his phone.

 

_ Steal a skateboard and go to this address _ \- $1,000

 

"That's it?"

Ronan looked more wide eyed and surprised than he did a second ago, and that's when Adam moved to see what was on his phone screen.

 

_ Drag @ _ **_the.magician_ ** _ around through through traffic on the back of your motorcycle _ \- $8,000

 

"You get 8,000 while I only get one?" He had to do the dangerous thing and he would only get $1,000.

"That's what you focus on?" Ronan laughed a little.

"This one sounds kind of fun actually," Adam confessed. When he looked at Ronan again he found him grinning. "You agree, I assume."

"A constant surprise, Parrish." He finally allowed his eyes to travel down again, and down they went. "Put on a shirt."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi thanks again for reading! <3
> 
> feel free to leave any comments and feedback please <3 i wanna know what you think.
> 
> see you next week xx
> 
> btw parts of this were my inspiration for the tattoo [check it out](http://68.media.tumblr.com/d552de974ef5851e07761155318a2db5/tumblr_o5sa4jtcMo1qa4mjno1_1280.jpg)


	5. blind luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Here." Adam pecked him on the cheek. They had roughly a hundred thousand viewers now, which was insane, but they were all getting to look out at the park when he kissed his cheek. He barely was pulling away when Ronan's head turned toward him.
> 
> "What was that for?"
> 
> "Luck," said Adam. "You look like you might need some."

Stealing a skateboard was easy, according to Ronan. He knew a skatepark they could try, where Noah used to go before it was overrun by "posers". Whatever that meant.

When they arrived it was full of teens and young adults skating around. Adam didn't like the thought of stealing, but that's what the dare said to do.

They did Rock Paper Scissors on who should go to steal the skateboard and who should film it, and Ronan lost. He would have to steal it.

"Shouldn't that be you, since it's your dare?" Ronan asked.

For good measure Adam turned the comments back on and they started flooding in with  _ who cares _ and _ just do it _ . That was not the response Ronan wished to receive, and he frowned, clearly disappointed he lost.

"Here." Adam pecked him on the cheek. They had roughly a hundred thousand viewers now, which was insane, but they were all getting to look out at the park when he kissed his cheek. He barely was pulling away when Ronan's head turned toward him.

"What was that for?"

"Luck," said Adam. "You look like you might need some."

Ronan scoffed and then bowed his head. "I... I might need a little more than that."

Adam thought maybe he was inviting him to kiss him fully, but then he was flipping the camera around so it was facing them. Whatever expression he was offering Ronan tanked, and he soured enough to step back.

"What's wrong?" It dawned on him a second later, and there was a hand coming up and around Adam's shoulders from behind, rubbing his back in small, circular motions. "Oh, I've become so numb to them. I can turn it back around if you want. It just said it wanted to see what we were doing."

But Adam was calculating in his head. He suspected that with the more viewers they had the more money their dares would be, and he was a logical man. He could ignore the camera if he had to. It was just a peck on the cheek. The weirdos watching seemed to go wild after their first kiss. This was just a tease of another. He raised his chin and shook his head at Ronan, and then moved and kissed him again on the cheek, a little more than a peck and a little longer too. Ronan's eyes drifted shut for just a second. Keeping himself from kissing him was harder than any dare they could give his way.

Ronan's eyes lazily reopened and he turned his head to him and felt himself almost give in, but he didn't. Neither did Ronan. That ache they seemed to mutually feel would have to wait.

Ronan handed the phone off to Adam and got to working, visibly calculating his best bet for stealth and accessibility. This was easier than having to kiss his cheek in front of now three hundred thousand viewers. Their numbers were skyrocketing and he wondered how many people even played this game to have this many viewers. Any other person, a kiss in front of strangers would feel like nothing, but with Ronan there was something more happening here and he didn't want to learn what it was while being watched by all these people.

Somehow in all his thinking he missed the sight of Ronan stealing a skateboard, because next thing he knew there was yelling and Ronan pulling on his arm and laughing wildly as he moved to turn and run with him. There was a crowd of skateboarders chasing after them as they ran through the park. Through the chaos of the run Ronan handed off the skateboard to him, forcing him to film and fend off the horde. They jumped onto the back of his motorcycle and didn't even bother putting their helmets on in the rush of the panic.

They just drove.

When they were free Ronan howled out like a wolf into the night, possibly shouting at the top of his lungs. Clinging to him while holding a helmet, his phone, and the skateboard was awkward, and not to mention painful with his chest tattoo pressing into Ronan's back. But he managed. He inhaled at his collar and could smell underneath the leather of the jacket a strong scent that was so obviously Ronan that he smelled it again. It was unclear if Ronan could feel him doing this, but he didn't respond to it if he knew. Adam pressed his face a little more against his neck, and almost raised his lips above the collar line to kiss there.

They reached the address the dare sent them to, and there was nothing there.

Both their phones buzzed and told them to wait. As Ronan pocketed his he groaned, leaning against the bus bench they procured for the time being. He stretched out his limbs to practically spread out on the bench, one of his legs coming to rest over Adam's. His head tilted back against the backrest, his Adam's apple prominent.

"What other dares have you completed before this?" Adam asked, and Ronan looked to physically resist turning his head to look at him.

"I had to dumpster dive," he said. "I had to streak across NYU's campus and was chased by campus police." Adam could see that, and he showed his amusement with the imagery, and a thin smile spread on Ronan's face. "I had to drive on the wrong side of the street. I had to pick up strangers at a bar."

"That one doesn't sound so bad," Adam noted.

"It was a very vanilla straight bar," Ronan clarified, and Adam understood the amount of discomfort he must have felt.

"Oh, that's shitty," he said.

"So I have a bunch of women's phone numbers if you're interested." His smile turned into a gallant smirk, and Adam rolled his eyes.

"I'm good," he said. He watched him breathing, until he realized something else. "Wait. How did you even get into the bar?"

Finally, Ronan looked at him, his expression raw and worn, a strange response to such a question. There were other things on his mind, that was for sure.

"Fake ID, man," he said, playing it off that he didn't look like he was hurting inside about something. "They gave me one. Do you have one?"

"Some of us follow the law, Lynch," Adam said, chiding him.

"You pulled a fire alarm today," Ronan replied lightning fast. "Not exactly law abiding citizenry right there."

Adam rolled his eyes again and sat up straighter and taller, while subtly maintaining to keep his leg still so Ronan's could remain hoisted over it. He liked the way it felt.

"I've never done anything like this before in my life," he said.

"Me either. The game has a tendency to persuade, though. Make us go against our instincts."

Adam understood that greatly, and wanted to say something more but was cut off.

A car pulled up, a black SUV with tinted windows. One rolled down halfway, and a hand reached out with a bag, dumping it on the street before driving away. Ronan leapt from the bench to fetch it, and was back before Adam could even stand.

He opened it and showed them both at the same time what was inside. Unthinkingly, Adam was filming this.

Inside was a scarf and a cable cord, and they both immediately looked at one another recognizing what they were for. The cord was useful, to connect the skateboard to the motorcycle so Adam didn't have to cling to the back to hold on. The scarf, however.... When it was opened up and spread out, it was a Columbia scarf, and Adam recognized that meant it was for him.

 

 _Let @_ ** _greywaren_** _drag_ _you_ _around through through traffic on the back of his motorcycle. Blindfolded. Do not go below 40 mph for seven minutes._  - $8,000

 

"You think you're up for it?"

Adam grabbed the scarf from Ronan's hands and started to place it around his eyes. The second time tonight he was made blind, but he didn't mind. He felt Ronan's hand cup along his jawline, and then another hand reach around and check his knot.

"You nervous?"

For once tonight, he wasn't.

He was never one for skateboarding before, but he had decent enough balance he could stand on one long enough and not fall, so he felt fortunate enough he didn't need to hold onto anything in order to stay in place. But when Ronan started to teeter out into the street and slowly move forward, Adam almost slipped off and onto the ground. He had a helmet on, but the rest of him was open to injury if he fell.

They had to go three minutes without stopping up to 45 miles per hour. Adam was pretty sure he was going to break his neck, but he never felt so alive. He trusted Ronan.

"You good?" Ronan called back to him.

"Yeah. Keep going."

This was really dumb, he thought, but the dumbest part was when they started to pick up speed and Adam remembered to take out his phone.

"You don't need to film," said Ronan.

"Focus on the road."

"Don't put your hands out that far. There's cars."

"Focus on the road, Lynch."

He put his hands down a little anyway, and wondered why it was they didn't want him to see. It certainly added to the challenge, but it wasn't quite as suspenseful if Ronan were driving.

It was illuminating how much better he could hear when he couldn't see. All the sounds of the city were feeding into his one good eardrum, sounds of engines and honking and catcalls pulsing in his ear. He heard sirens and dogs and the whistling of a subway train nearby. He felt alive, and he smiled at the feeling.

Then he felt something brush past him and he realized it was a car.

"Move a little to your left- Not that far."

Adam tilted the board a little as guided, and suddenly became very aware why he wasn't allowed to see.

The people who made up their dares were fucked up.

"How fast are you?" Adam shouted out.

"Not- Hey!" He felt Ronan swerve, the cord yanked a certain direction. "Move right. Right right right!"

Adam moved and then moved again when he felt the cord pull a little, and he was back on track directly behind the motorcycle.

"Fuck you, too, asshole!" Ronan shouted. They must have passed the front of the car that did whatever it did, and he heard voices briefly come into earshot and then right back out, yelling profanities back at Ronan. He shouted some very creative ones, and Adam almost missed him pick up speed. He jerked a little but his balance was kept maintained.

"Shit. Sorry."

"Just... Narrate everything you do," he yelled out. "I don't want to die."

"What the fuck are you two doing?" he heard someone shout. There were several honks in all directions.

"Mind your own business, shithead!" Ronan called out. "Sorry," he then said, which seemed more targeted to him. "Turning right. Sharp right."

Adam held his breath as he followed, learning on the spot how far to lean when they turned. He was getting the hang of this.

"Shit. Traffic. I have to go through them."

Adam held his breath again. They didn't slow down as Ronan veered a little to the left, declaring the motion so Adam could follow. He then tried to stand as upright and middle grounded as he could as Ronan said they were starting to cut through the cars.

The first time they did this Adam was terrified and he was only sitting on the back of the bike, and now here he was on a skateboard being dragged along the streets, blindfolded to boot.

A mirror smacked into his arm and nearly knocked him off and into the car opposite it on his other side. He winced, feeling a bruise already building, as he slipped a step back on the skateboard, almost to the edge.

Quickly he tried to regain his balance as his arm felt briefly dead, too painful to move just as of yet. He knew it wasn't broken, just in pain.

"How much longer?" he said, but Ronan didn't respond. "Lynch? You still there?"

"Fuck fuck fuck. It's a red light."

Adam no longer noticed the pain throbbing in his arm.

"Go through it," Adam said.

"Are you crazy? I'm not going through a red light. I can see the traffic up ahead. I can't just-"

"Ronan," Adam said. "If you have to go through it, go through it."

He could have sworn he felt Ronan turn back to him, but he couldn't tell if that was just his imagination or somehow he learned to see through cloth.

Then he felt Ronan go even faster, as he narrated as much, and Adam pinned his hands tight to his sides to avoid smacking against another mirror on their way through. The air was tighter in here, the sound of it bouncing off the cars close to his sides. The skateboard scratched against a wheel but didn't catch. This must be what it feels like to be a bat, dependent on sound waves to consciously learn the distance between them and other objects. He was sure if he said that out loud Ronan would call him a nerd.

"Okay, get ready," Ronan shouted. Adam could feel his heart lunging into his threat. "Going now. I'll likely need to veer right then left, I won't know until  _ Christ _ right right right right right-"

Adam veered right so fast he nearly snapped off the cord. He heard the car come close and then hit their brakes and honk, and he was pretty sure he almost hit their hood but he couldn't tell and he was glad he couldn't. Not knowing made this a little easier.

There was more honking now from their other side as they snapped forward and then Ronan was screaming left and they turned so fast he unthinkingly reached and grabbed the back of the motorcycle to hold him steady. They rounded back to the right and then balanced out on the other end of the intersection, and Adam released his grip of the bike's taillight and stood up again.

"Are we-? Are we still in the game?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Did we fail?"

"Fail?" Ronan didn't sound like he knew what he was talking about. "Why would we fail?"

"I touched...." Adam let his voice fade out. If he didn't get kicked out then he was fine.

"Nearly done," said Ronan. "Straight shot. Little traffic. I think we're in the clear."

"Great."

And they were. The worst of it was over. When the phones beeped they were in the clear, Adam was washed over with relief.

"Shit. A cop. U-turn."

Ronan briskly turned and Adam followed again, and then he heard the siren go off and he immediately started sweating.

"I'll lose them," Ronan promised. "I'm turning left."

"Into traffic?" Adam yelled.

"No. Parking garage."

He felt the echo of their movements as they went into a cement covered parking garage. There must have been pillars inside, because Adam kept hearing the sound of them blocking air as they whizzed past. It was strange to hear it so clearly, and to know what it was. He could hear the sound of the siren pass by the entryway. The brief panic was over, until he felt Ronan make a sharp left without warning.

"Shit. Sorry. I'm going up."

Adam's arm was allowed to hurt again, and he was almost relieved to feel it as they slowed down on the incline.

The moment he felt the bike stop he jumped off the skateboard and staggered a few feet until his balance came back to him. He tore off the helmet and then the scarf, and was freed of the game once more.

Even as he felt nauseous and shaky with nerves, he felt powerful, and strangely enough in control. Because he did that of his own volition. He could have said no. He could have made it stop.

Ronan was just now getting off the motorcycle when he turned back, and he walked to him and immediately embraced him. His arm hurt, his chest hurt, his lungs hurt, but he was happy. They made a pretty good team.

"This calls for celebration," said Ronan when they inevitably broke apart. 

"Sleep?" Adam suggested. He stretched his arm to work the muscles, but it still hurt.

"You calling it, Parrish?" He looked to understand, but appeared disappointed.

"I just want a nap," said Adam. "You can join me if you want. I'm sure it's well past your bedtime." For the effect, he pinched Ronan's cheek. Ronan turned red. After he said nothing, Adam sighed. "This is usually when you crack a joke," he said.

"Are you serious?" Ronan said.

"Lynch, I just let you drive me through the streets of New York blindfolded on a skateboard." He shook his head at him. "Isn't it a bit obvious I like you?"

Ronan only went redder as he strategically bumped into the skateboard and used it as a way to look elsewhere. He started to untie the cord from his bike, and Adam watched his hands work through the knots.

"I like you, too," Ronan confessed, still staring down at the taillight.

"Good," said Adam, and he nodded once. He would later allow himself the pleasure of feeling what those words meant to him, but he knew this game well enough by now. It didn't usually allow them much time between dares. "About that nap."

"You were serious?"

"What kind of sick person jokes about napping?"

The app beeped at them again.

"Fuck," said Ronan. Adam concurred with a grunt.

They both opened their phones, but Adam learned he hadn't received a new dare, while Ronan clearly did by the look of disgust on his face. Adam peeked over his shoulder to see what it was he was dared to do.

  
_ Perform a blowjob on a banana at this address. We will supply the banana _ \- $10,000

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi again hope you enjoyed it. if you haven't seen the film, yeah they do pretty dangerous shit like this.......... it won't have the same back end as the movie but they will continue doing dangerous shit like this.......... don't kill me
> 
> thanks for reading <3 please feel free to leave kudos and comments and what you liked about the chapter :)
> 
> xx


	6. fruitplay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It knows," he hissed. "They know. It's fucking shit." Then he turned to him, eyes wild and looking as if he were on the verge of tears. "Why did you pick me? In that whole crowd of people, why did you kiss me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry for the really bad pun in the title a;dsihf
> 
> please enjoy the secondhand embarrassment poor ronan suffers xo

_ Perform a blowjob on a banana at this address. We will supply the banana _ \- $10,000

While Adam was struggling not to laugh, Ronan looked mortified.

"I'm not doing it," he said.

"Why not?"

"I....." He quickly turned his phone temporarily off and then grabbed Adam's to do the same. "I've never...." He was suggesting something with his eyebrows, and it took Adam a while to register what it was he was saying.

"Oh." Adam knew judging a book by its cover never led to anything good, but Ronan was gorgeous and a bit of a rebel and very clearly extroverted. How was it he was a virgin? What were the boys on Staten Island smoking? "You haven't-?"

"Have _you_?" Ronan shot back at him.

"I mean- no," Adam admitted. He didn't have time for sex. Where was it going to fit into his high school schedule of three jobs, school, studying, and friends?

Hearing this somehow seemed to make things worse for Ronan, and he immediately walked away. Something else clicked when Adam just stood there watching him curse under his breath at his phone.

"Ronan, was I your first kiss?"

When he looked back over his shoulder, Adam had never seen Ronan redder. He admitted he was stunned.

"This is a shitty ass game," Ronan exclaimed. "I don't want to play it anymore."

"You ran out of a store earlier in just your underwear," Adam said. "You're gonna let this game get the best of you because of a banana?"

"Yes."

"Ronan." Adam moved to stand by him. Ronan let him, until he reached for his hand, when he jerked away and walked off again.

"It _knows_ ," he hissed. "They _know_. It's fucking shit." Then he turned to him, eyes wild and looking as if he were on the verge of tears. "Why did you pick me? In that whole crowd of people, why did you kiss me?"

"You were reading in Latin and you just had a sharpness about you that caught my eye almost immediately once I saw you," he said, remembering exactly how he felt when he saw him. "I was curious why a boy with your good looks in a motorcycle jacket was sitting alone at a diner on a Saturday night and reading Latin."

Ronan's eyes were darkening with some emotion he couldn't quite translate. Adam worried he said the wrong thing, although he wasn't sure what he was trying to get him to do.

"If it hadn't been for the game, I don't know if we would've talked," he said. "But I'm so glad we did."

"Me too." His voice was small as he said it, and then he was looking away again.

Despite that little voice in his head saying he didn't have to quit too, Adam knew this was as best a time as any to stop playing, and so he let it go. It _was_ shit that they knew even about their sexual histories. He came and stood beside him again, this time not reaching. He wanted to tell him that being a virgin at eighteen wasn't anything weird or unusual, and that he was nineteen and the closest he came to it was when he accidentally walked in on Henry changing one time. But he knew whatever he said would come out wrong, so he stood there, waiting, quiet. He just wanted to be there for him, as he clearly struggled with something inside him in response to the dare.

They were still learning one another, and he was learning more as they stood there in the quiet, the dull rhythm of a generator nearby calming them both with its constant hum.

Eventually Ronan moved into him and took his hand, interlacing their fingers.

"I saw you hit your arm earlier," he said. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Adam said coolly. "It's just sore."

"Which one was it?" asked Ronan, and he motioned with his good arm to the one that still stung. Ronan gently peeled Adam's jacket off and revealed he had a small yellow bruise on his upper arm just below his shirt sleeve.

"Ouch."

"It's not that bad," Adam murmured. He fingered the skin around it, figuring it would disappear in a couple days. He didn't even blink when he saw it. He felt nothing when he looked at it. It just hurt.

"We can get you something for it after," Ronan said. "I'm still impressed you managed to stay on the whole time like you did. That was really stupid."

"It was," Adam agreed, and he was positively beaming about it. "Really, I'm fine though," he said. Then he caught the tail end of what Ronan said. "Wait, after? You mean you're gonna do it? Why?"

Ronan looked reluctant to respond, eyeing Adam's bruise until he shouldered his jacket back on. His hand slipped out of Adam's, as he moved a few steps back to confess. "I don't want the night to be over just yet," he said.

"It doesn't have to be over, even if you don't do the dare." Adam didn't let him get away so easily and moved back into him. "There are other ways to have fun."

The pink returned like a flash flood in Ronan's cheeks, spreading to his ears and his neck. "Maybe after," he said, quieter than before. He was really going to do this. Adam wanted to tell him again how much he didn't need to, but he looked to have made up his mind, and if he was anything like Adam he was stubborn enough not to change it.

"If it'll help, I can do it too-"

"Adam," Ronan said gently. "That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard."

Adam withered. "What does _that_ mean?" he retorted.

"It means I don't want to fucking choke and die on my banana seeing you across from me..... doing that." Ronan was still blushing. Adam came and tried to ease his anxiety by poking him in the chest.

"You know, if you can't say it you shouldn't be doing it," he said.

"Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome." Adam patted his cheek before stepping away. He gave him some space to fully think about his decision. The night was young, the air warm but breathable. He no longer was sweating through his shirt like he did earlier in the day.

Nighttime in the city was almost mystical, like the city flipped upside down. So much could only happen at night. Like riding skateboards attached to motorcycles. Like meeting boys in diners. Like the possibility of _something more_.

It was nearly ten thirty by the time Ronan opened his phone back up and clicked accept, and when he did he looked up at Adam with an unknowable expression, something to do with that _something more_.

"Don't look at me when I do it," said Ronan.

"It's just a banana, Lynch," said Adam.

But Ronan looked serious about it, and so he dropped the argument. He had to promise himself he wouldn't laugh, because even just picturing someone doing this to a banana made him want to laugh.

The restaurant they were directed to was on the Upper East Side, some upscale snooty restaurant that looked like it would serve caviar as a complimentary appetizer. Adam followed Ronan in feeling less out of place than the last snobby place they went to, caring a little less what these people thought of him. They stared less, but that may have been because of their clothes.

"Do you have a reservation?" the host said when they walked up to his table.

"Uh, yeah." Ronan glanced down at his phone where it had the instructions, having added more once he accepted. "It's under Peel."

Ronan rolled his eyes as he exchanged a look with Adam, who almost snorted as the host of the restaurant repeated the name.

"Ah," he said, having found it. "Right this way, Mr. Peel. We have just the table for you. Right this way."

They exchanged another look when he turned around, Ronan saying _this is fancy as fuck am I really going to do this?_ while Adam was replying with _Do you think we can get any food out of this?_

They were sat down at a two person table near the center of the dining area. It was crowded, full of rich, old people. As they perused the menu, waiting for whoever was meant to bring the banana, Adam could sense Ronan's nerves flaring up. His leg was shaking under the table and he was starting to pull at his already pretty open collar.

"Wanna hear a joke?" Adam asked, to distract him from what was to come. The waiting was probably the worst part. Someone came and gave them waters while they sat there.

"Sure," Ronan muttered. He didn't look all that enthused for a joke. But he hadn't heard Adam's jokes. They could be pretty funny, at least to him.

"Two atoms are hanging out," he said. Ronan's eyes lifted up, and Adam smiled before continuing. "One says to the other I've lost an electron. The other says are you positive?"

Ronan laughed a little.

"You get it?" Adam brightened when he asked.

"No, but I can't believe you just told me a science joke," Ronan teased. He was certainly more relaxed than before, although now Adam was a little perturbed. Groaning, he gently kicked at him under the table. "Don't make fun of me," he said.

"I'm not making fun of you," Rona replied, brighter himself as he reached around the table for Adam's hand. "Okay, maybe a little. But I also think it's cute."

Usually Ronan was the one blushing, but now it was his turn. He moved to sink a little in his seat, knowing it wasn't just Ronan hearing this. Ronan's phone was in his jacket pocket, camera facing outward recording it all for the glory of nerve.

"No one's ever called anything I've done cute before," he said, still sinking. Ronan's grip held his hand onto the table, keeping him from just disappearing under it to avoid the compliment. If it weren't being said on camera, maybe he would have responded differently, but that audience just made him feel exposed.

"Really?" Ronan held his gaze, as his thumb began to trace circles into his palm. "That's surprising. You're very cute."

"You're mocking me," Adam declared.

"No. I'm really not."

They stared at one another as Adam couldn't think of how to reply. With just his eyes, Ronan drew Adam back up to sit properly in his chair, taking him in. He was effortlessly handsome, more so when he smiled, and with a spread of teeth showing between his lips, as the smile pulled them back just enough, Adam felt himself stretching forward into the table. There was such heat and intensity in Ronan's gaze, and then Ronan was the one to let it all fall flat, looking elsewhere as it became almost too much.

Adam needed to say something, do something. "Wanna hear another joke?" he said, but before Ronan could reply he answered for him. "Never trust an atom. They make up everything."

Ronan laughed again. This felt more genuine. "That one I got," he said.

Adam allowed himself to grin. "I'm glad."

Then, a server appeared to take their order. Only when Adam looked up, this stranger wasn't a real server. He was wearing a face mask like a doctor, so they could only see his eyes. He set down a plate before Ronan, with the banana on its crisp white spread.

And just to be even more humiliating, a condom sat next to it on the plate.

The man in the mask winked at them both before saying, "Be safe," and walking away.

"If I just eat the banana, will that count?" Ronan asked, completely ignoring the sight of the condom. It was best he just pretended it wasn't there.

Adam shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Damn."

"You don't have to do this," Adam said, one last time for good measure. But Ronan was stubborn like him. He wasn't going to quit at this point.

"It's too late to back out now," he said, voicing exactly what Adam suspected he would.

Before doing anything with the banana, Ronan made sure to hand over his phone to him to film. Adam didn't like this one bit, but he did it anyway.

Ronan then awkwardly placed the banana in his mouth, and it looked nothing like he was trying to give it a blowjob and more like he was trying to eat it with the peel still on.

Without meaning to, Adam laughed, a snort of a sound that roughly came out more like a giggle. A _giggle_. He hadn't giggled since grade school.

Whatever the case, it kickstarted a chain reaction and Ronan started to laugh too, a dry breathy laugh as he nearly choked on the banana. He pulled it out and squinted his eyes at Adam, ducking his head as he was straining to breathe. It made Adam laugh harder.

"Stop," he said. "I'm supposed to be serious."

"This is so funny though." Adam checked their surroundings as several of the people at other tables were starting to stare. "They're looking at us."

"Shh." Ronan reached for his mouth again with the banana and then stopped again, snorting. "They're meant to be uncomfortable."

Adam couldn't find it in him to stop laughing. He was overcome by it, fit to burst.

"Stop!" Ronan begged.

For him, Adam tried. He put a hand over his mouth, to muffle the sound, and then slowly as his eyes were transfixed to Ronan's, his amusement washed away in the ocean of his eyes, replaced with only wonder as to how Ronan was going to accomplish this task. He was very intrigued to find out. Ronan's laughter looked to still be present, little bursts as he tried to shake it off. He stared angrily down at the banana as if it were the one who couldn't go through with this, trying to serious himself up. And then he ran his tongue along the tip of his as if he were rimming the edge of a dick.

Suddenly Adam wasn't laughing anymore.

Ronan bowed his head as he pushed the banana up into his mouth, swallowing with it halfway inside. Adam couldn't breathe as Ronan pulled it out, his tongue running down the underside of it, exactly like he would do if it were, well.

Suddenly this felt a lot more targeted as Ronan locked eyes with him, and managed to hold his gaze. Adam was afraid to look away, afraid of what would happen, even as he knew this wasn't about him in the slightest. It was a dare.

As Ronan kept deep throating a banana - the thought still funny even though the visual was, well, not - Adam was recording it for nerve. In his peripheral he noticed a new notification pop up on Ronan's screen. His eyes fleetingly pulled away from Ronan to read it.

"It, um..." He cleared his throat. Ronan's brow folded, confused. "It um says to make noises."

Seeing Ronan roll his eyes with a banana in his mouth almost made him laugh again until out burst a loud, manufactured groan. Adam jolted in his seat, not quite expecting it, and he jumped again when Ronan made another moan as he started bobbing his head up and down the banana's "shaft". This was fucking ridiculous. And people were turning their heads, horrified by the gesture, as Ronan was giving this banana the best blowjob of its life.

His body became stiff, rigid, as he sat there watching a boy he hardly knew but liked very much give a blowjob to a banana. This shouldn't have made him feel the things he was currently feeling, a shiver rippling through his skin like a very cold breeze, as Ronan rolled his eyes dramatically slobbering all over the yellow fruit. He then started to go faster, and louder, and servers stood in the corner not even knowing what to do as Ronan became breathier and harsher with his sounds and actions. The show was coming to a climax as he used a hand to jerk the banana off, in rhythm to playing with the end again with his pursed lips and his tongue. It was obscene, intentionally so, overdone and wild as he then made a final sound that came to mean the banana, or him since he couldn't tell in this scenario who was meant to be making these noises, finished. He ripped the banana open and made a few more breathy grunts, a sign that it was all over. He flipped off the camera as he glared into it, and Adam would've laughed if he weren't so wrecked.

In his success, he bit off the tip of the banana and ate it, and Adam just sat there frozen. Ronan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and left the banana on the plate. He stood and motioned to Adam to follow.

"You ready to go?"

He said it so casually, as if he didn't just do all that he did.

Adam blinked at him, slowly coming back from the far away land he briefly drifted off to.

"Yeah," he said, softer than he meant. Quietly he got up and followed Ronan out, passing the horrified body of servers and busboys that stood by the way out. Outside, Ronan was laughing at himself

"Fuck, that was _weird_ ," he said. "And they just stood there, staring. No one fucking did a thing. Rich people, man. I bet I'm the fantasy in several people's dreams tonight."

Adam rolled his eyes. "Narcissist," he said, and Ronan turned to him, smirking like it was a compliment.

"What about you?" he said. Adam felt very targeted.

"What about me?"

"Did you get any dares yet?"

Adam breathed with relief, having taken his question an entirely different route. "Oh," he said. "I don't know. Let me check."

He handed off Ronan's phone back to him before taking out his own. There was a new dare, which was strange since he didn't hear his phone go off. But then again the last fifteen minutes were occupied with porn, so.

He felt Ronan next to him, close enough he smelled the banana on his breath. It made him shudder, and he turned away.

"What is it?"

"I...." Then Adam was shuddering for other reasons. "Shit."

 

 _Go to Coney Island and get on the ferris wheel. Ride it to the top._ \- $7,000

 

Adam was afraid of heights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!
> 
> as always please leave any comments, kudos, feedback if you like <3 let me know what you thought :)


	7. such great heights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Does it still hurt?"
> 
> "My tattoo?" Adam stole a peek of it inside his shirt. Still there. Still a little pink. It didn't hurt, not as much as his arm. "Not really."
> 
> "Can I see?" Ronan moved to look inside his shirt, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i did take this chapter's title from that iron and wine song. yes i posted two chapters this week. xoxo

_ Go to Coney Island and get on the ferris wheel. Ride it to the top. _ \- $7,000

"Shit." Ronan took his phone out of his hands, as if to check if what he was reading was real. "That's it? That's easy. Why do you get something so easy? Is Coney Island closed today or something?"

When he looked to Adam again, he must have noticed his quivering.

"You okay?"

Adam was terrified. Clearly at some point in his life he put it on the internet that he was afraid of heights, and now here it was to come back and bite him in the ass.

"Shit. Really?"

"No, I'm just freaking out for fun," Adam said tersely. He grabbed his phone back and wiped it free of any banana residue. "Who was that back there, in the mask?"

Ronan shrugged. "A watcher, I'll bet. Wanting their own five seconds of nerve fame. They're fucking nasty."

The power this game had on their lives over the course of one night. Ronan had been playing a week. He couldn't comprehend how much control they had over him. But it was ending tomorrow. Or was it?

Adam really wished he didn't need the money. He really, sincerely wished he was just in this for fun. That would make it easier.

"Do you like Ferris wheels?" he asked Ronan.

"Yeah," Ronan replied. "I don't mind them. They're even better when the person next to you isn't about to pass out, though."

That wasn't making Adam feel better, and he groaned, fingers squeezing their grip around his phone.

"You ever been to Coney Island before?" Ronan asked. He felt him guiding him toward where the motorcycle was parked. "Funnel cakes and the rollercoaster and carnival games." They reached the bike, and Ronan was placing the helmet on his head without even needing to ask if he could. "We can go even without accepting the dare. You and me, wreaking havoc. It'll be great."

"I need the money," Adam reasoned. He was more talking to himself than to Ronan. "Thought you needed it too."

"I've seen what this game can do to people," said Ronan. "What it's already doing to you. I don't...."

Adam closed his eyes. He didn't want to hear it. Ronan never finished his sentence, and instead moved to get on the bike. He patted at the seat behind him, and Adam snugly fit there without a second thought.

It took them an hour to get to Coney Island by the subway. They talked the entire time, insulting each other and exchanging bad jokes. Adam liked his chemistry puns, and Ronan liked everything else.

They laughed and they chided and it almost felt like a date, something real and not begun from something so superficial. They held hands on the train, scrunched together even though there was barely a soul in their car. Adam couldn't tell how much of the hand holding was real or not, but he really didn't want to ask. It was nice, and it quieted him. For one brief moment he was an actual teenager, not somebody playing along to someone else’s rules, not someone who had to grow up too fast to survive. Just a teenage boy crushing on another teenage boy, flirting by way of insults.

At one point Ronan gently touched a finger across the length of Adam's collar, when he was in the middle of discussing his dream job at NASA.

"Does it still hurt?"

"My tattoo?" Adam stole a peek of it inside his shirt. Still there. Still a little pink. It didn't hurt, not as much as his arm. "Not really."

"Can I see?" Ronan moved to look inside his shirt, too. The old man who sat across from them must have thought them a sight.

"You saw it earlier," Adam reasoned.

"But I want to see how it's healing."

Adam allowed him a look, pulling back his collar enough Ronan's nose dipped inside and he stole a few seconds of visuals. When he felt his breath on his chest, he let his collar snap back against his neck.

"Don't forget to put the unscented lotion on it like I told you."

"I won't forget."

They couldn’t stop staring at each other, it would’ve been embarrassing if he gave a shit.

Adam spent the last fifteen minutes of the train ride asleep on Ronan's shoulder, getting the nap he wanted since the whole thing started. He woke up to find he drooled on Ronan's jacket as the train was slowing to their stop.

"Thought you were drowning there for a second," Ronan joked. Adam smacked at his shoulder. "Was worried I'd have to do CPR on you."

"How unfortunate for you I'm fine," Adam replied.

Ronan proceeded to flick at his nose, and a laugh stirred from him like his sense of humor had fallen asleep too.

When they arrived to the island they went straight for the Ferris wheel, Adam unwilling to prolong it longer than necessary. It was loud and bright and smelled exactly like he thought a carnival would smell like, mixed with the cold of the coast in the air.

Wonder Wheel, it was called, covered in neon tubes that blinked brightly, nearly blinding against the contrast of the dark night’s sky. There were two types of cars inside, rocking and non rocking. Adam went for the latter’s line, until he felt a buzz in his hand.

 

_ Take a rocking car. _

 

“Fuck.”

Ronan grabbed his phone from him based on his reaction alone, and he didn’t even bother reading what it said before taking hold of Adam’s hand.

“Give it back,” Adam demanded, although it sounded more like pleading. He removed Ronan’s hand from him in defense, desperate to finish this through. “Lynch, come on.”

“Impatient asshole,” Ronan replied. “Take a breath. Breathe.”

Adam didn’t want to take a breath. He wanted to get this over with. When he looked up he could see the rocking pods doing just that, as the wheel slowly turned. Even from where they stood, he could hear the small squeals of metal, and he flinched.

“Give me my phone back,” he said, turning his gaze back to Ronan, who didn’t look to be enjoying this any more than he was. There was a moment of hesitation, as Ronan looked to struggle with letting him go through with this. But with resignation, he caved like Adam knew he would, and he handed back his cell without a word.

There wasn't much of a line for the Ferris wheel, for either line, and so when they got in it they reached the front barely within a minute. Adam had a death grip on Ronan's hand, who was so generous as he moved to get on first. There was a cage around the pod, and Adam shuddered. If he were claustrophobic, too, this would’ve been two nightmares. Luckily, he could handle tight spaces. But feeling trapped while so high up didn’t help quell his fear any.

"You can still say no," Ronan prompted. He turned around when he realized Adam hadn't followed him inside yet. "No one will think any less of you."

"They will," he said, and he tapped at his phone's screen.

"Who gives a flying fuck about a bunch of nameless people?" Ronan scooted back to the end of the seat so he was blocking Adam from entering. The whole pod quivered a little when he did, which made Adam a little queasy to watch. "I won't think any less of you. Neither will your friends."

But it wasn't about that. He wanted college. He wanted to escape Virginia so badly. He needed it. With very little effort he pushed Ronan out of the way, sitting him back on his side, and he labored his way in until the gate was shut by the attendee, and they were stuck in there. It started to shift a little as it was lifted off the ground, stopping again just one pod's distance ahead and about three feet off the ground.

"What's happening?" Adam tried to look back, but felt Ronan's hand grip the base of his skull, his fingers disappearing into his hairline and tugging just enough. In a heartbeat, Adam was facing him again, shifting so their knees were touching.

"Focus on me," he said. "I'm right here."

That he was, bright and warm and soft and firm. Staring at him, distracted by the spread of fingers in his hair and the way he softly licked his lips, and how his eyes stayed fixed to Adam's, Adam wanted him in ways he hadn't felt for anyone. He ached at every touch, longed for him with every look, and could think of nothing more than taking this beyond tonight. If they survived tonight. If Ronan weren't a product of the game.

"What are you thinking about?" Ronan asked. It was then Adam noticed they were moving, higher this time, almost halfway. He shuddered when he looked out, seeing just beyond the carnival at the oceanside, vast and dark and so far below them.

The cage was rocking, and he gripped tight at the wired exterior, fingers looping around the cold bars of metal. It was twisting his stomach around, like being on a swing dozens of feet in the air. The rocking made this much, much worse.

"How much my irrational fear of heights is going to give me a heart attack." Adam closed his eyes, as Ronan's hand moved down the side of his face and to his own hand, holding it tightly there at his lap.

"Well, that'll certainly be a story," Ronan joked. "Hey, I have a science joke for you."

Adam was trying really hard not to look at anything, feeling the swaying motion of their seat completely nauseating even without the view from so far up. But he risked it, to see Ronan's face, as he reacted to the idea. At once, Ronan quirked a smile, warm and bright just like him.

"Two chemists go into a bar. The first one says 'I think I'll have H20.' The second one says 'I think I'll have an H20 too.' Then he died."

Adam rolled his eyes. "Oh my god." He looked out at the water again, briefly forgetting where they were, until they started to move up and the view only spread wider and higher.

"How is my joke less funny than yours to you?" Ronan asked. "Why aren't you busting at the seams?"

"I've heard it before," Adam explained. "Also I'm pretty fucking terrified right now."

"You're okay." Ronan reached for his face again, and he leaned into the gesture. "Just stop looking, you sick bastard. You're causing your own pain right now."

"I can't help it," he argued. "If it's there to see I--"

They were at the top, the very very top, and the Ferris wheel stopped moving again.

The rocking from up here was worse. It felt like they were going to completely flip, they drifted so far backward. A small yelp escaped Adam before he could kill it, his back stuck to the seat as he found himself incapable of moving.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Adam heard the squeak in his voice and it made this all the more upsetting. He was shivering, not from the cold, although it was certainly colder up here than down below. Higher altitudes tended to do that. There was a sharp pain in his chest, and the thought of falling from this height did not escape him. He inclined into Ronan, although not even Ronan could keep him from reacting to the view from so high up, or the way the rocking did numbers to his insides. Sweaty and shaky and on the verge of having his heart rate reach astronomical heights.

"It always does this," Ronan explained. Not even his fingers twisting in Adam's hair could keep him from freaking. "They're letting other people on."

Adam leaned over the edge to see, which he knew wasn't a good idea but he couldn't help himself.

"Ferris wheels are prone to breaking down," he said.

"Is that true?"

"I don't want to die. I can't look." But Adam couldn't stop looking. "I can't stop looking. This is ridiculous. I think I’m going to have a panic attack. Distract me?"

"Distract you? Isn't that what I've been doing?"

"Yeah, but you stopped." Adam blinked down at the sight of people getting into the last pod, though it wasn't moving. What was going on? "Tell me another joke or insult me or sing or--"

And Ronan touched at his chin and turned it and kissed him. This time was different. This time was better. Adam immediately relaxed into the kiss and kissed him back. They knew each other more this time around, and it played out in real time as they kissed, knowing a little more where to touch, which angles they preferred, how rough the kiss could go. Adam allowed himself to drown in the feeling of Ronan's lips, crashing against his like the waves of the ocean below them. He was every bit as excellent at this as Adam remembered. It was almost unbelievable that he had been Ronan’s first kiss.

He drowned again in the sounds that erupted from them both, full of want and ache and relief. Ronan thumbed at Adam's shirtfront over where his tattoo was underneath, and Adam found himself inclining into the touch, asking him to touch other places. All the places. He reached around and placed a palm to Ronan's skull, feeling the fuzz of hair coming in at the back, as they knocked knees trying to move in closer.

Tonight awoke more than just Adam’s mild addiction to adrenaline. It did more than awake Adam’s thirst for fun. He had been so touch starved for so long, and this was the perfect break in that record. This had been something he’d wanted for so long but couldn’t know how to voice. Though he hated to admit it, he was glad that it was Ronan who he’d unknowingly waited for.

At some point the Ferris wheel had begun to move again, and when they broke for air he was no longer afraid. Okay, he was still petrified, but he wasn't thinking about it anymore. Just the softness of Ronan's lips, the strength of his jaw, and the completely wrecked look he had for him when they stopped. Adam was caught in staring at his lips.

"That was a really good distraction," he said.

Ronan was grinning, and then he kissed him again, hands exploring him above the waist, Adam's hands exploring too. They kissed and kissed and kissed the rest of the ride, until their last jerky stop where the gate was opened up again.

"Thanks for riding," the attendee said in a monotone voice. "Come back again."

Adam only would if he could do that every time. He pulled from Ronan, both messy and breathless, and then reached for his hand to go. Ronan twirled him around when they were free from the ride, kissing him again next chance he could. Adam was reminded with a little ding that the ride had been recorded, and the realization that the camera was on made him recoil from Ronan at once. He was redfaced as he walked away, reading the long line of comments, many of which were filthy.

His phone was swiped from him by Ronan, who held it from him when he turned to get it back.

"Hey!" he said.

"Don't read those," Ronan insisted.

"Give me my phone back."

"Perverts," Ronan whispered into the phone.

"Ronan."

Not even his grin could make Adam feel less vulnerable as he handed him back his phone. He put it away in an instant, no longer gleefully excited to kiss. Ronan noticed this, hesitating a lean in to instead give him space.

They stood at the edge of the boardwalk, looking out at the ocean before them. The sounds of the crashing waves below were overwhelming, not in the least bit comforting. They only made him more anxious to ask Ronan something, even though he was afraid of what his answer would be.

"Five seconds ago you were smiling and making out with me," Ronan said. "What's wrong?"

Reflexively, Adam turned to him. He watched him watching him, as he felt a hand at his arm.

"You weren't... dared to kiss me... were you?" He shied immediately, looking back out at the ocean.

"Wasn't that you?"

"I mean just now," Adam said.

He watched as Ronan reached into his pocket, and he held his breath as he waited for what he was doing. Ronan then pulled out his phone and showed it to him. His latest dare was the banana. After a few seconds of allowing this to sink in, he then took his phone from Adam and shoved it back in his pants.

He looked earnestly upset by the suggestion, and looked almost ready to leave. Adam felt no guilt in asking. He had to know. Everything felt surreal tonight, it was a relief some things were still genuine.

"Why would you even think-?"

Adam kissed him again before he could finish his sentence, answering him the only way he knew now. And he kissed him again and again and again. And Ronan kissed him back every time.

He couldn't tell how long they stood there, kissing with the water at their front, crashing against the side of the boardwalk. Ronan's hands moved to touch at either side of his face, thumbing his cheeks back and forth. He felt like he was floating, his head emptied and his body made hollow, making room for just this. He emptied himself into the kiss, willing Ronan to take all of him. It was possible Ronan was doing the same, the way he pressed into him, hands gentle at his waist.

There were no more dares for a while, allowing Adam and Ronan to make out against the railing for what felt like hours. When they came up for air, Adam was the one that suggested they ride the rollercoaster, never having been on one before. Despite the fact it went high, too, he was willing to risk it for another memory shared with Ronan. The lack of a dare somehow made it a little easier to swallow.

The first time it dipped he never felt so alive. His hands instinctively raised and he screamed until he couldn't scream anymore.

Afterward they found a photo booth nearby, and Ronan was the one to goad him in. They sat clustered tight together, a collective of limbs and lips, as once they started they couldn't seem to stop kissing.

Their photos came out a mess, full of laughing and goofy smiles and blurry shots of them making out. It was perfect.

They split them up when they were done, each of them getting their own set. Adam wouldn't have thought that Coney Island would be where the magic would appear.

The funnel cake place was closed because it was so late, but there was cotton candy still available, which they split between themselves in all its sticky sugary glory. It stuck to their fingers as they pulled pieces off, laughing like children as they walked around soaking everything in. He didn't think he would find something this good out of a game this terrifying. Ronan kissed him again and he could taste the cotton candy on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that wasn't so bad was it??????? omg no though those rocking cars in the ferris wheels are TERRIFYING. if i didn't example that enough in this chapter. omg.
> 
> tell me what you think please <3 i love your responses so much. 
> 
> feel free to leave kudos and comments <3 thank you for reading
> 
> next week: the boys go to a frat party


	8. to steal or not to steal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I want to see how far I can go with this," he said.
> 
> Ronan's eyes collected several emotions, the most powerful and evident fear.
> 
> "That's a dangerous mindset," he argued.

_Steal all the alcohol from a frat party_ \- $10,000

 

"There are frat parties in the summer?" Adam asked, choosing to focus on that and not the idea of getting killed for trying to pull this off.

"Let's say no and go back to Staten Island." Ronan was nibbling at his ear, having quite the skill set for giving Adam shivers. They were on the train back to Manhattan, and Adam had to swallow back a sound from the things Ronan's lips were doing to the sensitive skin at his neck.

"Staten Island," Adam parroted, and he sighed. "Why?"

Ronan didn't want to answer, and he moved his lips back to Adam's, kissing him until Adam had the conscious thought to stop him. He placed his hand at Ronan's open collar and lightly pushed. He was off him, reluctant by his gaze.

"Isn't this better?" Ronan asked.

"Yes," Adam admitted, "but this doesn't earn me $10,000." He saw something spark in Ronan's eyes and he frowned. "Do not make that joke.”

"You're a fucking masochist, I should've known." Ronan played it off like he was partially joking, but Adam could hear the break in his voice from concern.

While Adam disapproved of the idea of stealing, his survival instincts were kicking in and he was finding he was willing to steal from a frat party to bring himself that much more closer to his end goal. This game pushed with their ideals and what they felt comfortable doing. Likely someone twisted enough knew of his financial strain, what his life was like, and they played on that.

"I want to see how far I can go with this," he said.

Ronan's eyes collected several emotions, the most powerful and evident fear.

"That's a dangerous mindset," he argued.

Adam could only shrug.

"I want to see how much I can make tonight." Gently he stroked Ronan's cheek with the back of his fingers, feeling the stubble against his knuckles. Ronan looked ready to bite his hand off. "If you don't want to keep going, that's fine. I don't expect you to stay for me."

Ronan just looked at him, staring back with his large, blue eyes that spoke novels more than his mouth could. His lips were in a flat line as his eyes beseeched him to think this over more, but Adam made up his mind. He was going to go all the way with this until he crashed and burned. He needed the money. He wanted to see how much more he could get. A curious mind shouldn't be wasted, he thought. At some point in their staring, Ronan seemed to understand he couldn't do anything about Adam's stubbornness, and he resigned to kissing him instead. Like a leap of faith. A hand came to cup at Ronan's cheek as Adam kissed him back.

When they arrived back to the station where they left Ronan's motorcycle, it had two reusable grocery bags tied to the handles.

"This is getting too weird," Adam remarked. Ronan glanced at him over the bike.

"You can always tap out now," he said.

Adam gave him a look that told him to stop suggesting that, and Ronan frowned, handing off his helmet to him without a word.

The frat party was in Brooklyn, the ride there dull and quiet. Something was unsettling Ronan the more they played, and it wasn't just because of the banana. It had been eating at him since they first met earlier that night, and it only seemed to worsen the more dares they accepted. With a press of his arms around Ronan's chest, he silently pleaded for him to talk to him. Demanded it almost, as if one physical gesture could speak all of that.

Ronan said nothing. He ignored the tightening of Adam's arms around him, ignored the way he sat too close behind him. He just drove.

It was obvious a block away which brownstone was the party by the sound of it outside trailing down the street. They could see the overflow of the people outside on the sidewalk and the stoop, sitting and standing, drinking and smoking. Ronan rounded the corner past it, parked there, and just sat on the idling motorcycle in silence for a while.

As Adam waited for him to say something, do something, he removed his helmet and felt a wash of fresh air smack his face when he did. Ronan still hadn't moved, as Adam ran a hand through his hair to unflatten it. He came and reached around him again, placing a hand simply to his chest, chin to his nape, and sat there thinking of what he could say about this. There was nothing.

“What’s a frat boy’s favorite element?” He paused, waiting, but Ronan made no effort to reply. “Bromine,” Adam answered himself, a once amusing joke falling flat and dead in the aching quiet.

This was a nightmare game that tricked him into complacency then completely took that away, but he couldn't stop now. Not when he was _so close_ to getting enough to cover his first year of university. After that, he would figure out how to pay off the rest of his tuition, apply for more scholarships for next year maybe. But with the finish line so close, he couldn't stop now. But he could understand if Ronan needed to, so long as Ronan understood this was all he had.

Finally, he felt Ronan stir against him. He reached and took his helmet off too, then turned the motorcycle off, all the while Adam stayed touching him, holding him. He didn't know what else to do. The leather of Ronan's jacket pressed uncomfortably into his chin, but he pressed on.

"What's the game plan here?" Ronan leaned back so Adam could see his face. He was smiling like he hadn't just suffered an internal crisis for the last five minutes. Adam's hand moved up the center of Ronan's chest to his chin, tilting him a little more so the back of his head rested against Adam's shoulder. Once there, he leaned down and kissed him, the angle poorly and difficult, but Ronan didn't seem to mind. He leaned up into the kiss, kissing him back. His hands moved to Adam's hair, just so his fingers could disappear into the bird's nest at the back. They kissed a few seconds, and then Adam broke it off and pushed him to sit up again. Visibly dizzy, he agreed, as Adam swung a leg out behind him to step off the back of the bike. He handed off his helmet to Ronan, and then ran his hands through his hair again while thinking.

"Obviously there needs to be a distraction," he said.

Ronan agreed. Adam then looked down at their phones and could sense that someone was bound to be listening to their conversation. He didn't want anyone to intentionally fuck up their plans, and so he didn't add onto his suggestion. Not out loud.

"Just follow my lead," he said.

Ronan didn't argue otherwise.

As they walked into the party together it was quickly realized how much of a mess the party was. It took up the whole brownstone, with drunk people everywhere. It was possible there wouldn't be any alcohol left to find, but as they moved through the swaying bodies that danced to music and did keg stands and were simply chatting and taking up space, Adam found the tables of alcohol in the back of the house. There was a lot. As Adam stared at the table he started making plans in his head.

But the place was huge, and they needed a contingency plan, and the only way to scope the whole place out properly was to inevitably split up.

"Stay here," he said, eyes on all those around them unaware. "I'm going to look around."

"Why do _I_ have to be the one that stays back?" When Adam looked over at Ronan, he was staring back annoyed, lips pursed and eyes a little narrowed.

"Someone has to make sure there's still alcohol to-" Someone passed by then and he fleetingly hesitated, inclining into Ronan for no real reason. Like some instinct had taken over, Ronan touched at his waist when he moved, holding him there close to him. Now that he knew he could kiss him, he wanted to again, but it felt like a foolish thing to do when they were on task. They were close, touching, foreheads pressed together. He could feel Ronan's breath on his chin, and only needed to tilt his head up to kiss him. "Steal," he finally finished, before pulling away.

"Fine." Adam was surprised he didn't argue more. He expected it, but perhaps his drive was gone now because of the weight of all this. He was staring longingly at the table, and Adam hoped he made the smart decision not to drink from it. "I'll be here, watching the table."

"Wait for my cue, then start packing, okay? I'll be the distraction."

He started to move when Ronan's arm came and reached around him at the waist, holding him still as he came forward. He kissed him, slow and gentle like a first kiss they didn't properly have. It left him with shivers all over when Ronan backed off.

"For luck," he said, mirroring Adam hours earlier. Adam forced himself not to smile, and he walked away.

The place was a cacophony of college kids doing every single indecent act you would expect at a party like this. He walked through the whole first floor of the brownstone to examine every exit, every option, and find something useful as a distraction. Everyone was already drunk and a mess. The floor was sticky. The music was painfully loud and terrible. People were pushy and unbalanced. Girls were dancing on tables. There was a lot of _bros_ being thrown around in conversation. But through the chaos of it all, he came up with a plan.

After assessing his options, Adam returned to the table of booze and stole a cup of something full of a potent stench of alcohol. He smiled at Ronan before giving the drink a good sniff. He regretted it immediately, startling a grimace out of himself and raising his other hand to his nose to try and wipe the smell off. After a good few seconds of recovery he pretended to drink from it, not letting any of it touch his lips, and then he started to stagger over to where the DJ was standing with his laptop.

"Hi," he said, faking a drunken slur. He stumbled into him, who looked at him as if he were flirting. He made a face of disinterest and pressed on. His phone had to be out to record, which he remembered as he subtly shifted his phone so it was facing out, recording that way.

Slowly people started looking his direction as he moved and shut the laptop off, under the pretense of being wasted.

"I wanted to say congrats to the happy couple," Adam said, continuing with his pretense of being drunk. He motioned sloppily to a random pair of dudes that were just chatting, knowing exactly who to target to gain the majority of the party's attention. "You're a beautiful, forward minded thinking men." He paused, like he was struggling for words. Admittedly he was, but not because alcohol clouded his mind. After a breath, he continued. "And I just think it's brave of you to be so brave. Two frat bros being bros but being lovebros too." He struggled not to grimace at his own words, and ignored the onslaught of looks he was receiving, as well as the two guys standing there horrified like he had insulted them.

"Who the fuck are you?" someone said.

"How dare you!" Adam's eyes drifted to Ronan sneaking alcohol off the table, as more and more people were coming to watch Adam embarrass himself. "Excuse me, who invited him? Am I right?"

Ronan started moving faster with the alcohol, as people started berating Adam, some amused, others confused, some angry.

"This is the _worst_ engagement party I've ever been to," he replied. He received more unpleasant words from those surrounding him. But they didn't touch him, and so he went on.

"To Bob and Dylan!" Adam raised his glass and spilled a little, and when he felt people's attentions drift, he slipped and spilled a little on someone's shoes.

One of the guys berating him grabbed his arm, and he flinched.

"I don't know who you are buddy," he said.

Adam snorted like it was a joke. He jerked his arm out from under their grip, and then drunkenly touched at the guy's cheek. "My name isn't Buddy," he said.

"This isn't an engagement party," someone else replied.

"Oh, that's terrible," Adam gaped. "Did they break up?"

The crowd reacted in mixed replies, some laughing amused, some disgusted, some simply annoyed. One of the guys he called Bob and Dylan reacted with a huff.

"No, we were never together!" he said.

"What!" Adam sloshed around, catching Ronan's eye across the crowd. He looked to be laughing as he still supplied their bags with the rest of the alcohol bottles. "I want a refund on my wedding gift."

"You've had way too much to drink, man," someone laughed.

Adam waved his cup at them.

"Not enough!" There were hands grabbing at him again on both sides, pushing was starting to happen. His charade was slipping. "Get your hands off me," he said.

"Okay, fun's over," one of the guys that grabbed Adam called out. "Everyone get back to having fun!"

"You know," Adam blinked at him. "I may be drunk, but even I know that makes no sense."

"Dude, shut up."

Adam shook his head as he resisted being pushed, still trying to be fake drunk, but his resistance to being touched this way was making it difficult to go along. He caught his eye on Ronan finishing up with the bottles, and then saw someone starting to head back to that area.

Thinking fast on his feet he feigned a faint, loud and dramatic as it were. On his way down he intentionally "unintentionally" spilled his drink all over one of the assholes that grabbed him.

"The fuck?" they said, as he fell on the ground. Suddenly bodies were swarming around him as he continued with his practiced fall, acting like he was dizzy and disoriented.

"Hey!" Someone bent down close to his face. "Man, are you okay?"

He wearily looked up, acting the part of a freshly fainted drunk. It was easy. All he had to do was lie there. As those surrounding him hovered or invaded his space, he watched as Ronan successfully walked away from the booze. He hoped he left, but he couldn't be sure.

"Hey!" He recognized the voice was far, in another room. As the music resumed, he could hear just over it, "The booze are all gone!"

"What the fuck," someone else said. They started freaking out like this were something dire, like having no money for food or water or shelter, not being out of alcohol for a night when everyone here was drunk enough already.

"Who would take it?" someone else asked.

"We can't have used it all? Could we?"

"The bottles would still be here."

Adam knew it was time for him to leave and he sat up at once. Several people that were around him jerked at his uprise.

"I'm feeling much better now thank you," he said. He got up with ease, done with the charade. After brushing himself off of whatever may have been on that floor, he walked normally through the opening group of people and toward the hallway where he could see Ronan was waiting. When they met up he grabbed one of the bags, finding it heavier than he anticipated. Ronan moved to kiss him, but they had bigger issues at hand. He shook his head, mouthing later.

As they walked toward the exit someone bumped into them coming inside. He glanced at their bags and Adam knew at once they were caught.

"They have the alcohol!" they exclaimed. Ronan bucked forward like someone lit his shoes on fire.

"Run," he said. This felt very familiar.

They shoved past the kid they were next to in the hall and then barreled out of the brownstone down the stoop. The cluster of smokers and chatters outside caught wind of their deceit and clustered around, blocking them in. Adam had to quickly check his phone was still recording as he used the bag as leverage to push people aside. It was heavy, as someone tried to grab for it from his hand, but he persisted, pushing back and feeling terrible.

"Let go," he said. "You honestly don't need anymore."

"Fuck _off_ ," Ronan hissed beside him. He was more blunt about it and used his bag to push people aside.

Luckily drunks were sloppy, tripping and fumbling and weak handed. At least these ones were. They weaseled their way out of the crowd, Ronan first. He grabbed for Adam's hand in the chaos and pulled. When they were both free he didn't let go, and they ran.

The horde of drunk fraternity bros and likely sorority girls chased after them.

"Maybe you should've parked closer!" Adam shouted as they barely ambled ahead of the group, the drunks not exactly fast but their giant bags of alcohol weighed them down almost as much.

"Next time _you_ steal the alcohol _and_ be the getaway driver then!" Ronan shot back.

Together they rounded the corner and braced the knowing risk of getting caught as they climbed onto the back of the motorcycle in a mess. The bags were slung from their arms, their helmets left dangling at the handle. Someone grabbed Adam's from behind, and he jerked when he saw them directly behind him, with the rest not far behind.

"Give it back!" they shouted.

"Sober up first!" Adam grunted.

Then Ronan turned the ignition, and the motorcycle was awake and roaring. They didn't even have time to put on their helmets, they just drove. The bag was almost ripped from his hand but he held on, and the person staggered forward from the jerk as they drove away. Adam's heart was racing so fast he was pretty sure he was going to faint for real on the back of the bike, having to use his thighs to hold tight around Ronan's, his arms too full to hold any better.

They drove away several blocks, and the further from the mess they were the more outrageous Adam felt. He shouted out into the night air, closing his eyes to the cool feeling of the air against his bare face. Ronan wasn't driving as fast as he normally would with the heavy carry ones and with his helmets still dangling from the front handle, but it was still exhilarating. Freeing. He felt so alive, even if he also still felt guilty for stealing.

He could see Ronan laughing as he shouted out into the city streets, feeling weightless on the back of the bike as they drove on. He was becoming more and more comfortable with riding it throughout the night. Everything felt so possible now.

When they were officially in the clear, Ronan pulled over, careful with his speeds. As soon as they were stopped Adam got off the back of the motorcycle first to inspect their score, while Ronan started undoing the helmets for them.

"Shit," he said, staring at the amount they got away with. "This is a lot."

As Ronan agreed silently, he checked his phone to see the dare complete screen, then messages from Blue and Henry.

 

 **blue** : _we're in the city where are you???_

 

 **henry** : _tell us where you are. blue's probably going to murder me_

 

He ignored them as he closed his phone again, looking back to Ronan across the bike.

"That was some charade you had going back there," Ronan observed. He sounded impressed. It was admittedly impressive.

"I'm good on my feet," he replied.

"You are," Ronan agreed. He came around to Adam's side of the bike and then kissed him, winding them both from the length and intensity of their embrace.

"Not so fast, buddy," Adam said as he ended the kiss early to breathe, parroting one of the assholes from earlier.

Ronan didn't hear him, so he didn't get it. "Buddy?" He frowned.

It was a joke only funny to Adam. He shrugged it off and leaned into Ronan, but didn't give in for another kiss.

"What do we do with all this alcohol?" he asked, motioning to the bags on the ground.

Ronan's brow rose instantly, as if he had the answer on the tip of his tongue the whole time waiting to be asked.

"I may have a suggestion...." he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! and thank you for leaving any comments and kudos and feedback <3 you can find me on [tumblr](http://cabeswatergreywaren.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/adam__parrish)!


	9. house party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before he could respond, Adam was embraced as well. It was jolting, being hugged by a stranger like he was a familiar friend. His hug only lasted a couple seconds and then he was freed, moving to stand by Ronan.
> 
> "Noah, Adam. Adam, Noah. Where's Gansey?"
> 
> "What a fool!" could be heard shouted over the replay of their dare in the next room. Ronan clucked his tongue. "That'll be him."

Noah Czerny was one of Ronan's best friends, living in Brooklyn not far from where they were, and he was currently throwing a party.

It was late, very late, but Adam was wide awake and full of energy. He didn't want to go home now, not when the night could keep going. Not when he could still spend more hours with Ronan.

He texted Blue the address of Noah's place, and together he and Ronan drove carefully over to the party. It was more low key than the frat one, but there were still music playing when they walked up to his apartment, and bodies suffocating the air as they walked in.

"Ronan!" a sprite sized young man with almost white blonde hair appeared from the mass with open arms. He grabbed Ronan fast into an embrace, who muttered unknowable things to his friend who only laughed.

"We've been watching you," said Noah. He motioned to the TV in the other room that was currently playing side by side their recordings of the frat event. Adam couldn't believe he just walked in on a group of people that witnessed the events of that night. They probably saw all the kissing. He was less thrilled now that he was aware of that. "You must be Adam!"

Before he could respond, Adam was embraced as well. It was jolting, being hugged by a stranger like he was a familiar friend. His hug only lasted a couple seconds and then he was freed, moving to stand by Ronan.

"Noah, Adam. Adam, Noah. Where's Gansey?"

"What a fool!" could be heard shouted over the replay of their dare in the next room. Ronan clucked his tongue. "That'll be him."

"Gansey!" Noah shouted.

A young man wearing glasses and hair perfectly poised jerked his head up from the crowd assembled on the floor. The others all reacted in unison as Adam or Ronan did something worth reacting to, and then Gansey was coming over to them and smiling like he hadn't seen Ronan for years.

"Why are you rewatching that?" Adam said, quizzically motioning to the television. Gansey looked back, then forward. He looked very different from the skateboard aesthetic Noah fit and the aesthetic Ronan fit. Gansey seemed more like someone he would have expected to see at the department store they ran out of earlier tonight.

"Oh. Yeah, not everyone saw it earlier. There's a replay mode until the next dare. Ronan, I'm so glad you're here! You guys finished playing?" He gave Ronan a look that said he hoped as much.

Ronan sheepishly didn't respond, but instead raised his bag to his friends.

"We brought alcohol."

"Yes!" Noah eagerly grabbed the bag from Ronan's hand. "I told you they'd bring it here. $5."

"Making money off us?" Ronan laughed.

"Only a little," Noah admitted. "Gansey, this is Adam."

At once Gansey recognized they hadn't been formally introduced and he grabbed for Adam's hand to shake with both of his.

"So happy to meet you!" He smiled between Ronan and Adam, making it very clear he had seen them make out at least once. "We'll give you the tour. You thirsty?"

Adam shook his head, dazed by their openness to just accept him like a long lost friend. As Ronan's friends guided him through the crowd, introducing him to more people and having more people cheer him and Ronan on like they were heroes for being idiots, he found Ronan's hand, holding it as tight as he could. Behind him, Ronan clung to his back, giving him no space, but he didn't mind.

As Adam and Ronan were handed two sodas freshly poured, Gansey and Noah were talking to them about their evening like it was a video game or a television show, something they observed and felt like they experienced secondhand, when it was real life and no joke. Noah was impressed, while Gansey was concerned but didn't really berate Ronan as much as he would have expected. He suspected it was a conversation they had many times before and weren't in the mood to repeat tonight.

"So, Adam, when did you start the game?" Noah asked, as Adam felt Ronan's hands subtly slip around his waist from behind him. He moved to rest his chin on Adam's shoulder like a parrot, which Adam let happen if only for the amusing expressions of poorly practiced nonchalance on his friends' faces.

"I started tonight," he answered. Gansey's brow elevated high on his forehead.

"Tonight? And you're this ahead in it?"

Adam motioned his one shoulder that held Ronan's face on it. "I think that has more to do with this guy here," he said. "Loser won't leave me alone."

"Hey." He could see in his peripheral Ronan pouting, and he almost moved to kiss that pout off his face, but thought better of it as they were standing in a crowd of people that had watched them kiss all night.

Noah and Gansey laughed at his joke, and laughed at more until eventually Ronan took Adam by the hand again and said, “Parrish, didn't you say you needed the bathroom a while ago?"

"No," he answered, confused. "I don't think so."

"I'll show it to you anyway."

It was then it clicked with him what Ronan was suggesting. To be alone. He eagerly grabbed at the opportunity and grabbed for Ronan's second hand.

"Yeah, okay," he said. "Uh, is it okay if my friends drop by?"

"That's fine," said Noah. He shrugged so carelessly. "More the merrier. I mean, now we have a mountain of alcohol to devour."

The rest of the room they were in cheered in unison to that.

It was a good night.

Ronan took Adam to the bathroom by way of Noah's bedroom. He shut the door behind them, and in the dark started kissing at Adam's neck. His hands quietly slipped inside Adam's jacket, peeling it off him.

"You're such a bad friend to bring a boy to your friend's bedroom like this," he murmured, but didn't protest as Ronan pushed him backward onto the bed. He bounced a little and laughed at the feeling, laughing again when Ronan pounced on top of him.

"I'm a great friend," Ronan argued. "He had it coming leaving the door unlocked like this."

Adam rolled his eyes, and then felt Ronan move against him at the waist and his breath caught in his throat. He pushed at Ronan's shoulder, not knowing what else to do, as he did it again, kissing him this time as well, the intensity of the match almost life threatening. Adam closed his eyes, moaning as Ronan's hands began to spread out at his waist, fingering underneath the bottom of his shirt.

He could tell Ronan was enjoying this too as he rolled into him again, taking him apart with each gesture and each kiss. Adam wasn't sure if he could move much more beyond what he was doing, he was overwhelmed by Ronan's elastic energy. He slid his tongue up along the roof of Adam's mouth, as his hands motioned for Adam's shirt to rise. It was up above his collarbone, and could easily go up and over Adam's head if he allowed, but he didn't want to break the kiss. Instead, Adam ran his hands up to Ronan's face, cupping his cheeks with a soft grasp. Ronan messily grunted into the kiss, parting his lips wider to take the kiss even deeper. It was like the whole world stopped around them, and for once they could take their time.

Then Ronan broke the kiss, and it felt like giving way to a sinking ship. Adam felt himself disappearing into the sheets around him like high waves, as Ronan moved up to stretch for something. His cheek turned into one of Adam's palms, moving to where he felt his breath against his wrist and then his lips. Ronan kissed there, and then hooked his fingers around Adam's wrist to delicately pull it from his face. He kissed his fingers, starting at his knuckles and then moving down to his fingertips. Adam almost wanted to call him out for probably having a kink about hands, but he was too enveloped in the feeling to speak. He stared up at Ronan and made eye contact with him as he breathily ran his mouth over ever inch of skin on his hand, feeling wrecked by watching him stare back. He was looking at him with such want and hunger, the same feelings he felt inside, and Adam selfishly relished in watching him, biting his lips to hold back the sounds trying to escape. He looked until it became all too much for him, seeing that burning desire staring back, and then he closed his eyes.

They were kissing again not long after, Adam's hand returned to Ronan's cheek as before, only feeling lighter than the other, like it were more special than his other hand for what was graced upon it.

Wordlessly, Ronan asked for Adam to spread his legs more so he could move into him, and he swallowed him up with his thighs eagerly, hooking his feet just behind Ronan's legs. In his appreciation, Ronan thumbed the delicate skin at his chest, something that made Adam respond breathily into his mouth.

He knew all this was going to be was making out, because he wasn't ready for more and Ronan's first blowjob was to a banana so he suspected he wasn't ready for more either. They only met earlier that evening, but it felt like so long ago. So much had happened in between. But Adam still appreciated what was happening, so very very much. His hands slipped down from Ronan's face into the collar of his jacket. He pushed it off his shoulders, and heard it fall off him onto the floor. Ronan's movements flowed more now as a result, and he pressed down harder into Adam so their chests were touching.

They could still hear the muffled swelling sound of the party outside, but in here it was like a whole other world in the dark. Ronan's tongue was getting more explorative as they continued, his hands were feeling the jitters of Adam's stomach, his palms flat against his abdomen. This was not what he expected tonight to be like, but god it felt good, to be touched so gently like he was something to be worshipped. Ronan somehow knew their boundaries already, but Adam was still learning. In his process, he wanted to feel Ronan's skin, and he started unbuttoning his shirt to do so. He untucked the parts that were still tucked in, and then spread open his collar to feel there at the bare skin. He seemed to enjoy it, making small breathy noises with each button undone. His fingers trailed the newly freed flesh there with each undoing, all the way to the bottom where when he was finished he left the shirt to hang open. His hand scooped down from his chest to his stomach, exploring this new terrain with wonderful results.

Ronan kissed him harder now, and his hands moved to slip into Adam's hair, pulling on it just a little. Adam moaned again, almost whimpered. He bit down on Ronan's lip, who sounded like he enjoyed the feeling.

This was some exceptional kissing going on, and Adam made another sound to make sure Ronan knew that, and then the door opened.

Quick, Ronan's mouth pulled away, leaving Adam breathless and worn through. He lay there, unmoving, trying to get his head straight. The wind was knocked out of him as he finally opened his eyes and just barely turned his head, acknowledging whoever it was standing in the doorway.

Who was this asshole?

"What are you doing in here with my boyfriend?"

Adam looked at Ronan and Ronan looked at him. He was dumbfounded that Ronan had a boyfriend, and Ronan stared back at him with turned in eyebrows and a flat line made from his mouth. Where did the kissing go?

"Adam, do our three years together mean nothing to you?"

Adam jerked upright at the mention of his name, sliding out from under Ronan just enough to register this was happening. 

"You have a boyfriend?" Ronan's voice cracked at the word boyfriend. Adam recognized immediately what this was telling him, and he panicked.

"No, I--"

"It's me. Tad." Adam was on the verge of strangling this guy. Who the fuck was he and why was he lying? Ronan was looking back at him in horror, and he reached for him, but he recoiled.

"I don't know you," he yelled.

"How can you deny our love?" said this Tad. "You barbarian! I know you said you were thinking of taking a break when you went off to college, but I didn't think you were serious."

"Ronan," he turned to him and reached again. "I don't know this--"

But Ronan was already pulling away and fumbling off the bed. 

"Ronan, I've never seen this guy before in my life," he said. "Fuck. Listen to me."

Not listening, Ronan grabbed his jacket as he held his shirt closed, rushing out past Tad into the party. At once, Adam jumped off the bed after him, fixing his shirt and looking for his jacket in the low light. Tad was staring down at his phone and grinning.

"Alright!" He fisted the air. "I just made a thousand bucks."

"That was a  _ dare _ ?" Adam should've known. Tad looked up.

"Yeah. Dude. You should've seen your faces! Priceless."

Adam shoved past him out into the party after Ronan, searching for him in the chaos. There were more people here now, the party ramping up now. They were drunker, too. Great. He found Ronan by the door and rescued him before he left, touching at his shoulder. Ronan scowled as he turned around.

"I don't know that guy," he said. "He's just some loser who was doing a dare. You really going to believe that asshole over me?"

"We barely know each other," Ronan replied. Adam reached for him again, but his hand was shoved away as Ronan moved to leave through the crowd of people.

As he followed he was grabbed from behind, held back as Ronan kept going.

"Can we talk to you?" It was Blue. She didn't sound like she expected him to say no.

"I'm busy-" But Blue didn't let go, and soon Ronan was gone in the mess of people. At least he didn't leave, but now he was lost, and Adam needed to find him fast before this Tad dick fucked everything up for good. The one good thing about tonight.

"Adam!" Henry swayed a little. He was a little drunk. How long had they been here? How long had he and Ronan been inside Noah's bedroom? "You're in the top 5 players in the city!"

"Uh, so?" Adam couldn't care less about the game right now.

"So?" Blue blinked at him like he said something idiotic. "Adam, there are almost a million people watching you and Ronan right now. The replay, I mean."

"Not an us anymore," Adam argued, and he pulled away from her to try to find Ronan. Blue and Henry followed after him, trying to explain over the music and talking, but he didn't care about any of that. Not right now. Not at all if it meant that the game destroyed any potential he had with Ronan.

He found him again in the kitchen, who when he recognized him approaching tried to bolt out the other exit.

"Ronan, wait," he said. Ronan hesitated at the doorway, but didn't turn to him. "We're the greywaren and the magician," After everything we've done tonight... Why won't you believe me?"

"I--"

"Whatever." Adam grabbed his phone out of his pocket. "Fine. Don't believe me. I'm going to do another dare. Without you."

Ronan whirled around at the sound of that.

"Adam-"

But Adam wasn't listening anymore. He was opening his phone back up and moving through the crowd of people. He ignored Blue and Henry, who stood there frozen as he angrily opened back up the app. "Give me another dare," he said to his audience. He heard the echo of his voice in the other room, and realized they were watching live. It didn't matter. If Ronan wasn't going to hear him out, he would just do another dare.

It took all of five seconds for it to pop up on his screen.

  
_ Walk across a ladder between buildings _ \- $20,000

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah hi.................................
> 
> thanks for reading! and thank you for leaving any comments and kudos and feedback <3 you can find me on [tumblr](http://cabeswatergreywaren.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/adam__parrish)!


	10. a step away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't long after he accepted the dare that two people appeared with a large ladder through the party. They walked to the back of the apartment toward the kitchen, and Adam stood there watching, realizing what he was about to do. For a boy afraid of heights, he wasn't sure why he agreed to do this. Noah lived five floors up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please read the notes at the end when you're finished. enjoy!

It wasn't long after he accepted the dare that two people appeared with a large ladder through the party. They walked to the back of the apartment toward the kitchen, and Adam stood there watching, realizing what he was about to do. For a boy afraid of heights, he wasn't sure why he agreed to do this. Noah lived five floors up.

Henry and Blue tried to talk him out of it, even Noah and Gansey. Even Ronan looked to want to say something, but he ignored him. It was too late.

When he went to the window he looked out into the apartment building across the way, the ladder long enough it went right across exactly. There were people holding the ladder across the way, and people holding it beside him, as he moved to climb up on the windowsill. He had his phone recording in his jeans pocket, pants tight enough it wasn't going to fall out.

The first step onto the ladder was the worst. It was then he found it shaky, his sneakers not fit for stability on something uneven, and that he wasn't as balanced as he thought he was. He wobbled. Everyone behind him through the open window gasped. He glared back at them, and then saw Ronan had gone. His heart sank.

“What the hell are you doing!” he heard Blue shout through the crowd. She shoved her way through until she reached the window, staring back at him as he tried to concentrate. “Don’t kill yourself.”

“I’m fine.” Adam was unsteady as a tightrope walker who needed to sneeze. This was stupid of him, to think he could handle this. Maybe the game would leave him with the other money and he could just stop now, before it was too late. Before he broke his neck. Before he broke his own goddamn heart.

_ Back out now _ , he thought.  _ It’s better this way. _

He took another step forward. No, his insecurities weren’t going to win. Even if Ronan wanted nothing to do with him after this, he wanted the money. He  _ needed  _ the money. This was for him, and Adam wanted it almost more than anything.

The crowd behind him then began to call out to him. He was dizzy hearing the shouting only in one ear, unbalanced in the volume. Heights and his poor equilibrium because of his hearing did not do well for someone trying to walk over a wobbly ladder several stories above the ground.

“Adam, come back!” Blue shouted.

He ignored her. He ignored them all. Despite the imbalance, he put his finger at his good ear, muting the world. All he could hear now was the vibration of his heartbeat, the swallows of his dry throat, the harsh breathing as he stared ahead. Twenty one more steps. He counted. He only had twenty one more rungs until he was at the other side. That was doable. The same distance as his bed to his door at his place above the St. Agnes church. That’s all this was. He wished he could close his eyes, but he needed to see where he stepped.

The shouting from behind him was still ringing in his ear, even though the words were muted. He took another step, almost doubling over and throwing up onto the ground several floors down.

Twenty more rungs.

After breathing, he focused intensely on the sound of his own breath, and the sound of his own heartbeat. They were all he wanted to hear, somewhat steady against the backdrop of all this chaos. If he listened to anything else, he was going to feel lopsided to the sound of screaming and sirens and the wind. The wind was the worst of it. Pinned between two buildings, the air caught in the alleyway especially high up, pushing on Adam as he moved another step.

Nineteen more rungs.

"You can do it, Adam!" he heard Henry say, amongst the tirade of vocalized comment threads that he'd rather just filter out like a real life mute button. He appreciated Henry's comment, at least.

"Don't encourage him, Henry!" Blue's comment, however, could be muted.

Adam stared ahead, back to them, hands out, and thought about Ronan kissing him, Ronan's hands at his stomach, his lips on his skin, his weight at his waist. He thought of the anger in his eyes and the release of pressure as he pulled off the bed, the venom in his voice as he wouldn't believe him.

Another step. Eighteen rungs.

Ahead, there were a couple people holding the ladder for him, the thing not as steady or stable as it should be. The window was open like the one behind him, but not busy or humming with terrible narrators like the one at his back. He could do this. He could do it. Don't look down.

But he had to look down, to walk. His sneakers squeaked against the metal as he moved to his next step, seventeen to go, focused and hardened by the cold air that bit at his skin. It erased the echoing feeling of Ronan's hot mouth there before.

With a setting jaw, he moved another step, and then Blue had to open her mouth again.

"Are you doing this over a boy?" she exclaimed through the window. Her voice was clear and pointed. "Adam, that’s absurd."

He rolled his eyes and worked hard not to let the words sit within him and fester. Because it was true he was sort of doing this for Ronan, or to get back at him, he wasn't quite sure which. And he knew it wasn't smart. But here he was, and it was too late now. He was another step closer, fifteen more to go.

"Blue," he said, trying to remain stable as he spoke. "I love you, but kindly shut the hell up."

He could hear her gape from here, loud and dramatic over the sound of everyone else still calling out for him.

_ Pick up your phone. Go faster. Don't do this. Hurry up. We wanna see you with the phone. Record it in your hand. _

"How dare you!" Blue sounded enraged. He loved her, but he couldn't do this right now. "Why are you being so mean tonight?"

"Blue," he heard Henry say.

Fourteen more rungs to go.

"No, Henry," Blue shouted. "I will not shut up! This is a horrible game and I blame you for this."

Thirteen more rungs to go.

_ "Me? _ "

Twelve more rungs to go.

"You got him into it," Blue reasoned.

Adam couldn't take it anymore.

"Blue, please shut up! I’m trying to concentrate!”

He was frozen as his volume shook the ladder. Everyone hesitated for a second. He could've heard a bird fly past in that moment. Then he heard the sound of a fist pound into something, likely Blue smacking her hand on the windowsill, because the ladder shook again. Jesus, she was going to kill him.

"Turn around right now and come back," she said. She sounded scared now, her voice giving way to emotion, wobbling a little just like he was on that ladder so high up. He was shaking more with each defined step, but he was nearly halfway there. Not long now. "Come on. This is not worth your life."

"I’m fine." Even Adam knew that wasn't true, and the hesitation in his response was a dead giveaway.

"I know your fines, Adam. that’s your I’m actually terrified fine. Come on.”

“ _ Blue _ ,” he shouted. “I’m going to fall if I do that. I’m not  _ turning around _ . Will you  _ stop _ ?”

“Fuck you, Adam!” Blue sounded like she was sobbing. That made this all the more terrifying. “I’m coming over there if you’re this stupid.”

He could barely concentrate, now with only twelve steps to go. With ease, he was able to roll his eyes, but not do much else, because there was still the great risk of falling to his death. And if they kept arguing like this, he was pretty sure he was going to slip, because concentration this far up was key. And Blue was definitely messing with his. “Just stay where you are,” he said.

“Like hell I’m going to do that!” Blue exclaimed.

Adam had enough, and he turned around at once on instinct. “ _ Blue _ .”

And then he slipped.

It all happened so fast. First he was up, then his foot caught on the rung he was on, as it shifted under his footing from the twist of his body. He fell backwards straight onto the ladder, and he landed on it hard, knocking the breath out of him upon impact. His heart was all the way up in his throat when he could breath. Everything was a little blurry, hazy. There was a ringing in his ear.

The ladder shuddered under him, from his weight, from his fall. There was screaming, and it became louder and louder the more he breathed in and out to gain back some clarity. He blinked, as stars had filled his vision, until there was nothing there but the actual sky above, where he couldn’t see any real stars.

Something was moving at his backside, and for a split second he felt a pinch in his chest thinking a rat or snake or something was crawling on him. But he was very high up, and it was doubtful such a thing would occur like this. It was then he realized it was his phone.

Quick, he turned around, clinging to the ladder as he did, he nearly rolled over the edge of the ladder. Somehow he stopped himself before that happened, and he reached for his phone as it fell. If it fell and broke, the game was over and he lost.

He barely caught it between his middle finger and forefinger. Adam was thankful his fingers were long like they were, as he trembled staring down directly below himself. The ground was so far away, the objects there so minimal and small. His whole body was shaking as he stared, moving his phone into his other hand, his sweaty palms dirtying his screen.

Finally, he could no longer hear the ringing in his ear, but something more than that. Sounds took shape again, over the frantic sound of his breathing and the throbbing of his heart rate. He heard people shouting, being annoying as hell still even after all this. Blue’s voice was key among them, but he chose to ignore them all. He  _ had  _ to ignore them all. He couldn’t handle it otherwise.

His greatest fear was falling, both literally and figuratively. He feared to fall from where he climbed, that something would happen to his achievements and successes he rightfully earned as he moved towards the goal he always dreamt of. The irony of wanting to be a space engineer when he had a fear of heights was not lost on him, but there was something different about all that, compared to this.

Out here, alone and cold, lying very still on an unreliable ladder. He felt so small.

This was it. This was the end of the road. Adam was quitting. There were less steps back than there were forward. Not many, but enough to make the difference. If he could get up. He just had to get up.

Get up. Get up. Get  _ up _ . GET UP.  _ GET UP _ .

He pinched his eyes shut as he saw someone under him, quivering at the thought of falling onto a stranger, endangering their life as well as his.

He couldn’t. He couldn’t move. They were going to have to helicopter him out of here, drag him off. Adam was frozen, stuck to the ladder like tape to paper.

This was a terrible idea. He lost Ronan. He lost this game. He lost all his money. He didn’t want to lose his life, too.

“What, are you taking a nap in the middle of a dare? On a ladder? What’s with you and napping?”

Adam opened his eyes at the familiar voice. At once he lifted his head, only his head, and stared in front of him at the window that had been his destination, could still be. There, leaning out the windowsill, holding onto the ladder, was Ronan.

Fucking asshole.

“Ronan-“

“You shithead,” he said, and he had a wobbled smile, poorly etched into his face. It held the promise of a devilish grin but didn’t deliver, completely overrun by his likely fear of the situation. “What are you doing?” His voice was even, which offered a small comfort.

With a shaky hand, Adam lifted his phone up to see Ronan, not exactly the intention of the act but it certainly added to the drama of it. Really, he was attempting to pocket his phone, his fingers twitching uncontrollably. He tried to place it in his back pocket but it didn’t go in. He tried again, but missed the pocket a second time. On the third try, it caught, and he slipped it into the pocket with ease, making sure the camera was facing outward again like before.

With his eyes still focused sharply on Ronan, he put out both hands onto the sides of the ladder. With flat palms, he pushed up and forced his muscles to get back to work. After a slight struggle, he managed to shakily rise at least to his knees. When the ladder moved with him he stopped, and he breathed. His eyes drifted closed a second, hesitant to continue. There was still shouting at his back, both goading and chiding alike. Fuck. He opened his eyes to Ronan’s smile again, and for a brief moment forgot why he was upset with him.

“Hey you fucks,” Ronan shouted. “Shut the fuck up. Would  _ you  _ want someone yelling at you while you were climbing a ladder this high up? You fucking assholes. If he falls it’s on you. This isn’t a fucking video game.”

Everything went silent. A rush of the events earlier, Ronan walking away from him, not listening, not believing, came back to the forefront of his mind. Oh, yeah.

If Adam weren’t still pissed about it all, he would have thanked him. But for now, he focused on the task at hand. Getting the fuck off this ladder, whether it was forward or backward.

With a slow, steady move, he took one leg and swung it up a couple rungs, one that he knew wouldn’t jerk under his foot and sustain the weight. When it was steady and safe, he then moved his second foot up, swallowing as he knew this was the harder part. Very slowly he pushed up to stand, and when he removed his hands from the ladder he wobbled a little to the left, but forced his body more to the right. To balance himself out. It sort of worked.

With his eyes closed again, he put his arms out, stretching them straight to either side like wings, to maintain the balance he barely had. This was the only way they were going to count it, he suspected, if he stood. Crawling was too easy, even though it was equally as terrifying.

He took another step, noting Ronan was still staring him down, still holding the ladder.

“How did you get over there?” he asked. “ _ Why  _ are you over there?”

“I knew your stubborn ass wasn't going to stop, and you weren't listening to me.” Ronan shrugged, playing it off so cool, when Adam wanted him to show his emotions better. He wanted the raw, real answer. “So I came over here to wait for you. You're almost here.”

Aware he wasn’t getting that raw, real answer in front of who knows how many watchers now, he took what he could get. The fact Ronan was there, waiting for him, holding the ladder’s weight down with every step he took, was a lot to factor in.

“Do you believe me now?” he said, watching as Ronan’s lips twitched a smile. The smile was as shaky as Adam was, who took another measly step and felt his breath catch in his throat as the wind picked up.

“I believed you when you said our usernames, asshole,” Ronan replied. His smile festered a little, rewiring into a frown. “You didn't let me speak.”

That was true.

Fuck, he nearly slipped, but caught himself. Eight steps to go, each taking longer than the next. He was petrified.

“I just—“ Ronan caught his attention again, and his focus returned to him rather than the countless feet below him. “My dad was a lot of things, cheater was definitely one of them. I just—“

Adam frowned at the situation, recognizing it wasn’t okay that he just stormed off without talking, but for the most part they were still brand new to each other, and they both had been through a lot tonight. They were, in theory, allowed a little room to make mistakes tonight.  “You don’t have to explain why you hate cheating, and I get that there was the brief shock, but you could’ve listened to me.”

“I know. You could’ve let me speak, too, you know.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

It's okay,” Adam said on instinct. “I mean, it’s sort of okay. I mean, it’ll be okay when I’m off this ladder.”

Ronan’s grip seemed to tighten on his end, and it was only now that Adam realized he was alone on his side. Adam was grateful, because really he was going to probably cry from the stress when this was over, if he didn’t fall between now and then.

“Just keep walking,” Ronan called out. “Don’t think about it.”

“Easier said than done, asshole,” Adam replied tersely.

“Hey, I’m not the one who took the dare to try to prove something to a very cute piece of shit.”

Ronan smiled, and Adam almost laughed. He was afraid if he did he would shake the ladder again, and he wasn’t entirely sure how stable it was, especially considering only one very cute piece of shit was holding one end. He was too afraid to see what the weight situation was like on the other side, but he doubted it was any more sustainable. With his gaze held forward, he moved another shaky step forward.

“They know your fears, too,” Adam realized, suspecting that someone knew about Ronan’s history with his father and used it against him for a laugh. “This game is creepy as hell.”

“Tell me about it,” Ronan agreed with a groan. “I went to high school with Tad. I should've known he was lying. Like hell he could get a boyfriend like you.” He leaned further out the window, which didn’t do well for Adam’s nerves. His incentive remained clear, however, which was to reach the other side. It became more important the more they talked, the less angry he was, the more he wanted to just hold him again and be held.

“Are you okay?” Ronan asked.

Adam tried to steady his steps, his heart rate, his breathing. Everything was uneven, except the look of confidence and support in Ronan’s eyes. He was grateful that his phone wasn’t filming this, although he assumed there were many on them from behind him. Ronan explained that watchers could film shit, too, even if it didn’t go towards his dares it often helped boost his viewership. Adam really hated this creepy game, but here he was still playing it anyway.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, a little tarter than he meant to. “Just keep talking. I’m almost there.”

“Which do you want to do more, punch or kiss me?” Ronan asked, and he was smirking. The smugness in his expression overshadowed his fear, but even so Adam could still see it when he faltered in his next step closer, and Ronan flinched.

“A little of both,” Adam confessed.

In reply, Ronan looked to want to laugh, but he didn’t. Instead, his smile split to show his teeth, easing more of Adam’s anxiety away with the way his skin crinkled around his eyes, how dimples formed at the edges of his lips. He was beautiful, and Adam liked to think that if they survived tonight maybe one day he could call him  _ his _ .

It was a rebellious thought, a dream, a selfish little thing that was more fantasy than reality. They barely knew each other, and yet he felt like he never knew anyone else  _ more _ . In the end, it helped him, and before he realized it he was at the end. He’d finished. He bent down and crawled through the open window, and pushed Ronan off to the side of the dark hall they found themselves in. His phone beeped the congratulatory DARE COMPLETE noise, but he ignored it. Nothing else really felt the same as this, as Ronan holding him at his waist and him holding Ronan at his cheeks.

They kissed promptly, away from all the prying eyes, away from all the bullshit and nonsense.

When they inevitably came up for air, Adam then realized that everyone else was probably wondering where they ran off to and what became of them. If they continued to stand very still and be very quiet, maybe the game would forget they existed too, and they could just do this for the rest of the night, the rest of the summer.

But like all good things, it had to come to an end.

With Ronan’s hot breath on his face, he cupped the boy’s cheeks with his hands and sighed.

“We should get back to the others, shouldn’t we?” he asked. “My friends already want to kill me.”

“They can wait another few minutes,” Ronan said. He pressed his face into Adam’s palms, his eyes drifting shut as Adam’s thumbs brushed over his eyebrows. “Scare ‘em a little.”

Adam could only help but nod along, as if he really agreed to this unwise plan. He tucked his face into the curve of Ronan’s neck, and breathed him in with all his might, flooding his senses with  _ Ronan Ronan Ronan _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone hope your holidays are going well. thanks for reading and i hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> please leave comments and/or kudos they're the lifeblood of fic writing <3 i'm really behind on replies but i read each and every comment and cherish them ty <3


	11. the fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Your friends bugging you about the game, too?" Adam asked close to Ronan's ear. Ronan nodded numbly, his hands feeling under Adam's jacket
> 
> "That, and you," he admitted. Adam controlled his face enough not to react.
> 
> "Oh, me?"
> 
> "Hi, biker boy. Remember us?" Blue said behind him, and Adam never got to learn what it was Ronan meant by that.

Returning to the party was unavoidable, although Ronan and Adam did avoid it as long as they could. Once back at the party, people praised Adam as if he did something heroic, not something completely idiotic and dangerous.

Holding hands, they pushed through the chaos of the party, which didn't look to be dying any time soon. They passed through more people than Adam felt were here a half hour ago, the apartment almost unbearably full. It was hot and loud and smelled of beer. As Adam and Ronan pushed through to find someone they knew, they passed by a semi-familiar face, Tad standing there chatting someone up. When they passed, Adam grabbed his cup and chucked the contents of it in his face, then walked away as quick as the crowd would let him, all _oooh_ -ing at his lack of sophistication. He saw some phones go up, but he didn’t care. He wanted the bastard to suffer a little for what he nearly pulled off with success.

He could hear Ronan laughing at his back, hands at his waist for guidance, and then they were away from that annoying situation and elsewhere in the crowd.

“Hey, losers!” The shrill voice cut through the party’s noise like a hot knife through a stick of butter, and Adam barely had time to turn his head to where he thought he heard the sound before there was a light fist to his arm.

“Ow. What did _I_ do?” Ronan grunted behind him, apparently having also been punched by Blue. She scowled up at the both of them, with Henry standing behind her with a strange look.

“You two knuckleheads don’t think, do you?” she said. “You were obviously made for each other if you’re both this stupid!”

She pinched at them again, and Ronan flinched. “Ow. Hey. I don’t even know you.” He glared at her a second, as she glared right back. “Listen,” he said, looking to Adam, “I’m going to find my friends. Leave you to talk. Find me after?”

“You’re just going to leave me to defend myself on my own?” Adam replied. Already he could feel Ronan slipping away from him.

Ronan shrugged, smirking a little. The prick. Adam couldn’t help but smile as he watched him go. He shouldn’t be smiling.

“He seems nice,” Henry said dryly, and Adam turned back to them, smile quickly turning to a frown.

Henry and Blue looked visibly miserable, as if they’d been spending the whole night chasing after Adam to make sure he didn’t kill himself. That actually sounded pretty close to what they actually spent the night doing. While he felt mildly guilty about that, it was his choice. He tried his very best not to be upset by their affection, but he still had adrenaline coursing through his body like an electric current.

“Listen, I know you’re upset,” he started to say.

Blue let out a singular _ha_. Henry said nothing. It was possible he didn’t want to upset Blue more than she already was, which he could understand. But he and Blue often argued to the point that this felt more familiar than not. It was just part of their friendship, a way to work things out; but this wasn’t just an argument this was a _fight_.

“I’m almost done with the game,” he continued. “When it’s over I’m never doing anything like this again.”

“Sure,” Blue said curtly. Her eye roll was both evasive and vicious, her arms folded over her chest in a way that showed him just how upset she was.

“Blue….” He didn’t know what else to do, but open his arms to invite her in for a hug. In hopes she would accept, he left them open, and saw Henry twitch forward to hug him as well, but Henry didn’t move. Blue angrily stared at his offer, and then stepped forward into his arms after mild hesitation. Henry followed after her, putting Blue in the middle of a hug sandwich.

“I was so scared, you asshole,” Blue mumbled against Adam’s sleeve. “Watching you out there on the ladder nearly killed me. I’ve been scared since you got on that boy’s motorcycle.”

“Which, I want to hear more about by the-“ Henry jolted back. “Ow, Blue.”

Blue peeled from Adam to glare over her shoulder.

“Not the time, Henry,” she snapped.

“It’s apparently never the time,” said Henry. “I can’t live vicariously through my friend here?”  
Blue glared at the both of them. “Not if he’s going to _die_ playing this _game_ that _you_ introduced him to!”

She slapped at them both, and Adam jerked but didn't argue.

“Hey.” Henry’s arms shot up, and Adam felt like they had this fight already before sometime tonight. It went a lot smoother than if they hadn’t. “I didn’t know it could get this bad. My dares were harmless.”

Adam had enough of his friends fighting and he stepped in.

“I’m sorry, you guys,” he said, and the pair turned to him. “I’m going to keep going though, and while yes you could spend forever explaining to me how ridiculous and unwise that decision may be I need support now more than anything. Can’t you give that to me? Please?”

Blue’s jaw jutted out. She looked like she had a singular brow the way it was folded, her eyes narrowed. Beside her Henry sheepishly touched at the back of his neck, looking resigned to speak. Finally, Blue sighed, and her shoulders relaxed.

"I don’t support this, but I do support you," she said. Adam smiled at her, then at Henry who nodded in agreement. He was hopeful this was the end of their fighting tonight; he needed them now more than ever. He was so close to the end he could almost feel the money in his hands. College would be a lot less stressful without the worry of debt lingering over his head.

"But if this kills you, I’m going to kick your ass," Blue declared.

Even that couldn't kill his smile, and Adam grabbed them both to hug them again. The party resumed around them, music and drinking and dancing. It was so late he could feel exhaustion beginning to kick in under his adrenaline high, which was wading away the longer he stood still like this.

"I want to properly meet your new boy toy," Henry said over Blue's head.

"He's not-" Adam sighed. "Whatever. Come on."

Eventually Adam had to face the music that his friends wanted to properly and officially meet Ronan under their new circumstances. It was probably better now than later, although he wasn't all too clear what he and Ronan even were. They only met five odd hours ago. A relationship couldn't form in five hours, could it?

Through the crowds, he guided his friends in search of Ronan. It didn't take long to find him with his friends in the kitchen, arguing much in the same way he and Blue were earlier.

"Hey." Adam's hand found Ronan's shoulder, and he squeezed to let him know he was there. When Ronan turned his head he wore a scowl on his sharp face, which swiftly washed away as soon as their eyes met. It was replaced with a softer look, that hardened again when Gansey said something that Adam didn't hear very well. With all these clashing sounds it was a bit difficult to hear at all in this place, and worse for him with only one source of sound intake instead of two.

"Will you shut the fuck up, Dick?" Ronan hissed, and then he stepped in closer to Adam. His hands found their way to Adam's waist as if they always belonged there, as if they found their way there so often. He was so comfortable with these touches since the Ferris wheel, and Adam couldn't complain.

"Oh, hello, Adam. Adam's friends," Gansey said. He smiled at Henry and Blue as if he knew them already.

"Your friends bugging you about the game, too?" Adam asked close to Ronan's ear. Ronan nodded numbly, his hands feeling under Adam's jacket

"That, and you," he admitted. Adam controlled his face enough not to react.

"Oh, me?"

"Hi, biker boy. Remember us?" Blue said behind him, and Adam never got to learn what it was Ronan meant by that.

"Yeah, hi." Ronan leaned over Adam for no other purpose than to have an excuse to touch him it seemed. Adam didn't move so he stayed close. "You're the one that almost killed your friend, right?"

Blue gaped, and Adam slapped at his shoulder.

"Don't blame me for Adam being so stupidly smitten with you," she said, and Adam then turned and glared at her, his face getting hot.

"Blue," he said through clenched teeth.

"What?"

"Um, anyway, hi." Henry reached out for Ronan's hand. "I'm Henry. This is, clearly, Blue. Adam's best friends. Will murder you if you hurt him. Et cetera."

"Hi," Ronan said, and he shook Henry's hand looking very amused. Adam elbowed him to try to curb his smiling. It didn't work.

"Noah!" Noah exclaimed, and the others all looked to him, standing next to a very grumpy Gansey. "That's me. And this is Gansey. Ronan's best friends. Will not murder Adam, but will be very sad our friend was murdered."

Adam felt Ronan bury his face in his neck. He found himself laughing a little at the way he tucked into him, either embarrassed or annoyed or a combination of the two.

Blue and Henry politely spoke to Noah and Gansey, and soon they were swept up enough in a conversation that they barely noticed Ronan and Adam anymore. Aware of this, Ronan took Adam's hand and pulled him a few steps away. When no one noticed, Ronan continued stealthily walking them out of the room, until they were separated by an ocean of people and across the party.

This felt familiar, the same route as before, as Ronan walked Adam back into Noah's room and shut the door behind them. This time he locked it.

Same as before Adam sat on the bed, though he was curious how much like last time this was going to be.

"Are we repeating the last time or-?"

Ronan gave him a serious look, and Adam nodded.

"Noted," he said.

This wasn't going to be as fun.

As he prepared for whatever Ronan brought him in for, Ronan sat down beside him and reached for his hand. He lifted it to his lips and kissed at the back of it, then moved and kissed him properly.

Something clearly shifted in their dynamic since last they were in here, for obvious reasons and some not so. It was than Tad coming in with his dare, more than Adam taking the dare to walk the ladders.

It was written all over Ronan's expressive face as he tried to hide it in the dark of Noah's room.

"I wanted to quit before I ran into you," he said. He bowed his head so Adam couldn't look him in the eye. "I almost did. But then you were there at the diner and kissing me, and then we got set up together for the drive, and again and again tonight I've been constantly doing every dare not because of the money but because of you."

His gaze held downward a little longer, until finally he couldn't hide it anymore and he looked up to see Adam, his blue eyes shining with an ache Ronan had been burying all night.

"Oh." Adam felt guilty somehow, like he was doing the game's job and convincing him to stay. "I didn't know." He told himself not to get angry about it, by the guilt he felt, as he stared into Ronan’s eyes and could see that wasn’t his intention.

"Somehow _they_ did," Ronan said, his voice soft enough for a whisper. "They're sick. This game is sick. Let's stop playing."

"I can't." Adam hated this repetition, but it bared repeating. He wasn't quitting.

"Don't you have enough for school yet?" Ronan asked. Adam could laugh. If only Columbia was this affordable.

"No," he said. "Almost." Even if he could afford one full semester of school it was a start, and he was nearly there.

Ronan groaned and lay down on the bed, like he was finally giving up on his end of the discussion but didn't seem particularly happy about it. He sulked into the bedspread as Adam continued sitting upright above him.

"You don't have to continue with me if you don't want to," he said, feeling deja vu about this whole conversation. "I'm not going to force you to keep playing."

"This game killed my dad," Ronan said.

Well that was new.

"What?" Adam whipped around to sit facing Ronan, and looked to see him grab a pillow and place it over his face. He started talking into it, but Adam could barely hear anything but muffled mumbles, and so he grabbed the pillow away.

"My dad was the one who played it in Seattle," Ronan said, and Adam felt his stomach drop. "He had to climb a construction crane, and then he had to hang from it I don't know how long. He somehow lost his grip and just.... fell." This was not at all what Adam expected to hear, and he didn't quite know what to say. So he said nothing, but lay beside Ronan on the bed and touch at his face as the only solid way of comforting him. It seemed to be working, as Ronan inclined into him and pressed their foreheads together. "We lost all our money because of him, and he was trying to make it up to us by winning the game, and he failed. Miserably. I've been trying to earn back all that he lost, but it's been hell." His hands found Adam's waist again, looping his fingers around the hem of his shirt. "Then tonight I met you, and you've been so enthusiastic and invigorating and it made me almost forget the horrors this game offers and expects."

"Wow."

Adam didn't know what else to do, and so he kissed him. It wasn't as passionate as their first kiss in here, wasn't as earth shattering and world bending, but it certainly held its own. It was slower, calmer, and full of words Adam didn't know how to say aloud. He was learning tonight that sometimes a kiss could explain away what his words could not, although it was probably not a healthy alternative, it was certainly a worthwhile one. Ronan's hands twisted at his shirt, raising it up as his hands slipped just underneath, his hands warm and startling on his skin. He breathed into Ronan's cheek, slight stubble there from the lateness of the evening. His knee shifted on its own to rise and wrap around Ronan's legs, until he remembered what happened to them the last time they got carried away, and his leg quickly came back down.

They were left a little breathless when they parted, and Adam couldn't move much beyond parting their lips. He closed his eyes as he leaned against him, as Ronan's hands reached around to the small of his back under his jacket but above his shirt. He realized after a moment of coming down from this other form of adrenaline high, that he was holding Adam like a loose hug. It almost distracted Adam from what Ronan had said only earlier.

"Why didn't you say all that before?" he said. His hands were constricted between them, but he was able to turn his head so his nose could graze past Ronan's cheek. Ronan reacted with a sigh, tilting his head so he was looking down at the space between them on the bed. 

"I don't know," he said. "I just know I don't want the game to kill you, too."

"That would be nice," Adam said, lightheartedly.

Ronan groaned.

"I’m serious."

The reasonable side of Adam told him to quit while he was ahead, and he knew he should stop, but he didn't want to quit. Adam didn’t know what else to say. Even after hearing about Ronan's father, Adam was now more determined than ever to beat this game at what it did best, which was scare people.

He kissed Ronan again, willingly disappearing from his own thoughts for a while. That while lasted all of a minute, when their phones beeped again.

Another dare. Because, of course.

This was Adam's decision time. Now he had to decide if he was going to open the date or not, to let it fade away, or answer it.

Ronan's hands roamed around him, and then made the decision for him. He took Adam's phone out of his back pocket, and turned on the screen to show what it said.

Adam swallowed before he read it, preparing himself mentally.

"That's..." He blinked. "That's not so bad. It's for both of us, I assume?"

 

_Fake sex in a public place._ \- $10,000

 

"How do we fake sex?" Ronan's nose wrinkled at the idea. Adam almost made a joke that he should be an expert at it by now, but held his tongue.

"Like grunting a lot, I guess," Adam assumed.

"It’s twelve o’clock in the morning," Ronan noted. "Where are we going to find a public place to do this where people would even hear us for it to matter?"

 

As if the app heard him, the dare edited itself before they made up their mind.

 

_Fake sex in a church_. - $12,000

 

Adam stared at Ronan openly, and watched his jaw stretch in disgust.

"What?"

His eyes were bright from the illumination bouncing off the phone screen, but they weren't happy. His finger reached on the screen to click on the address given, and his eyes widened to a point the light dilated them.

"That’s my family church," he said. "There’s some event there tonight. It’ll be packed."

"Oh." Adam didn't realize he went to church. Not that he should believe in stereotypes, but Ronan didn't look or act the part of what he thought was a typical church goer. He watched as Ronan reluctantly clicked accept for him.

"We should get going," he said, as if he wasn't visibly having an internal crisis about all this. If Ronan had issue with blowing a banana, surely he was going to have trouble with _this_ , and not to mention it was in his _family church_. Before Adam could pinpoint what to say, Ronan was rising off the bed and leaving him to feel cold and uncomfortable.

"It’s still in the city, but I don’t remember when mass was said to be over," he said.

All Adam could think to say back was, "There’s mass this late?"

Ronan shrugged, as Adam stood to stand beside him, hands delicately feeling around Ronan in an effort to understand him better.

"Normally just Christmas," he said, so causally it was as if they were going to the church to attend it, not fake fornication somewhere like two assholes on a date.

"You don’t have to come," Adam noted, again striking upon that deja vu. It felt like a tick at this point, out of fear that one of the times Ronan would say _okay_ , and then prove Adam's subconscious right. That this was only fleeting. Even after everything, he worried a little.

And he watched as Ronan took his own phone out, turned it on to the n3rv3 app, and then hit accept same as he did for Adam. There wasn't much he could say to that, other than once more tonight feel weight lifted off his shoulders.

His whole life he did things along, held himself up and depended on no one, but tonight he had to depend on Ronan again and again and he could see himself willing to do it in a way he never thought he could before. This instant connection was terrifying if he allowed himself to see that, and so he buried the thought down until at the very least the game was over.

"At least there's no banana this time," Adam said, and Ronan snorted a laugh at him. He struck Adam playfully in the shoulder, shying at the reminder of earlier that evening. 

Enjoying the flush in Ronan's cheeks and the low rumble of embarrassed laughter that he managed to let out, Adam touched his face with both his hands and kissed him.

"I can't wait to have fake sex with you, Lynch," he said, and Ronan snorted again. 

"Stop," he said. The tops of his ears were starting to grow pink.

Falling back on teasing humor, Adam leaned into his ear and faked a very unrealistic moan. Ronan laughed a little less embarrassed, which was the goal. He shoved him away, to Adam's delight.

"Save it for the church," he said.

Adam snickered, pushing back at him. Ronan caught his hand before it pulled away from his shoulder, and held it close to his chest. He pressed Adam's palm flat against his shirt, where he could feel his racing heart underneath the buttons.

"I’m going to hell for this," Ronan said, and Adam couldn't help but smile at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi thanks for reading <3 please leave a comment if you can i love receiving them <3 happy holidays and happy new year :) !  
> please ignore the fact mass wouldn't happen this late ah;sdhfasdf thanks


	12. the gospel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He faked a moan back at Ronan, and felt his hand at Adam's waist pinch him.
> 
> "Ow! Oh, you like it rough, I see."
> 
> "I'll kill you," Ronan hissed.

Escaping the party was easy, as Adam and Ronan ducked out with a curt wave to their friends, a swarm of bodies between them to unintentionally help out.

The drive to the church was easy, and when they arrived Adam was almost hesitant himself to go in by the massive size of it. Ronan went to church at one of the older Catholic churches in the city, architecture deriving from a time before everything else here. Ronan took Adam's hand and walked him to the large old doors, and that was easy too.

What wasn't easy was being subtle inside, because as soon as they walked in Adam was more than aware of how public this fake sex was going to be. They were standing at the back of the church, facing out towards the pews and the patrons. They all had their heads bent down in prayer, with very little light inside except for mostly candles. Adam had absolutely no idea what the hell the man at the front was talking about, but he didn't care. He came here for a reason, and it wasn't to be religious.

With Ronan's hand he signaled for him to guide him somewhere private. Sometimes churches had balconies, did they not? He moved slowly towards the light to look up and see, but above the doorway there didn't look to be any more seating, just stained glass windows with religious imagery. He sighed, foregoing that plan.

Ronan nudged him in silence and motioned to a box in the corner. Adam instantly knew what this was, and he eagerly walked them towards it.

They stepped inside the confession box as quietly as possible, and as gracelessly as they seemed to be able. Ronan elbowed Adam in the gut as they tried to both fit inside, and Adam hit his forehead against Ronan's. Limbs bumped and grazed, bruises were likely made, as they made a mess of it and likely enough noise to draw suspicion already.

To make matters worse, when they did manage to fit it was in the worst way possible. Adam had to sit straddling Ronan's lap, facing him while sitting incredibly close; while Ronan sat with his back pinned against the back wall of the small, wooden box. It should be called a torture box and not confession, because it was incredibly small and claustrophobic, and not to mention dark. Adam could hardly see Ronan, only able to make out the outline of his shape.

The box creaked with their movements, which added to the affect of their future fake acts. Adam pulled out his phone and held it out to face them, and Ronan did the same, though not as well. He looked frightened under Adam when he finally was able to see.

"What?" he whispered.

Outside their box he could hear the sounds of the church goers responding to something the man giving mass said. His leg was giving him a cramp, so he moved up a little, hitting his head with the effort.

This was awkward at its best, and not to mention embarrassing. Adam knew that when he agreed, but he didn't realize just how much until they got in here.

"I'm nervous," Ronan confessed. He looked as if they were about to have  _ actual _ sex in this church.

Adam pressed into him and found his forehead in the relative dark.

"It'll be okay," he said. "I brought fake condoms."

Ronan wheezed out a breath as he rested his head to Adam's chest, hiding his face as he snickered. His laugh felt mildly forced, but he seemed to be easing out of his shell.

"You fuck," he whispered.

Adam feigned a large gasp. "You cursed in a church," he said. "I hear that's a bad thing to do."

"Shut up." Ronan groaned into Adam's chest.

"Oh, I see we've started already," Adam noted, still teasing. Against him he felt Ronan mumble some innovative curses that he supposed he wasn't meant to clearly hear, but it was quiet in the box and a little echoey.

He faked a moan back at Ronan, and felt his hand at Adam's waist pinch him.

"Ow! Oh, you like it rough, I see."

"I'll kill you," Ronan hissed.

"That's not a very Catholic thing to do in a church," Adam mused. "Or maybe it is. I never went."

"You're making this worse," Ronan groaned.

"I'm really trying not to," Adam replied. He wished he could turn his phone off for this, but supposed half the point was to know a million people were watching them humiliate themselves. "Here, repeat after me," he said, and he moaned very softly and breathily.

Ronan kept his face obscured by pressing it harder against Adam's collarbone. His hand squeezed again at his waist, and then he felt him tense up all over.

A quiet, low groan cut through the quiet in the confession box, long in its length and deep from Ronan's belly. 

Adam grinned. This was actually kind of fun.

"There you go," he said. "Come on. Let's keep going."

"I can't believe you're actually having fun with this," Ronan said in shock.

"Why not?" Adam shrugged, and then moaned, a little louder than before. "It's probably the least dangerous task I've gotten all night." He moaned again.

This time, Ronan moaned back. He then promptly snickered. It was still a little awkward, but they were getting better at it, more relaxed. Ronan didn't tense up before this one.

"Kissing me wasn't very dangerous," Ronan noted.

"That's inaccurate," Adam replied. They both moaned this time, and then Adam slapped his free hand to the wall of the box, creating a story to this scenario. Outside they likely heard the slap more than the moan, but they were slowly getting louder each time. "It was mighty dangerous. I risked everything with that kiss."

He didn't explain what he meant, as he leaned into Ronan for another one, only to recognize the disaster that would make. So he paused a breath away, grunting unintentionally into Ronan's open mouth, and then pulled back to sit straight again to moan with his head tilted upward.

His hand pounded the wall again in rhythm to their moaning, creating a pattern that could be believable if heard from the outside.

"How does NASA organize a party?" Adam asked, before another large grunt that almost made him laugh right after. He snickered more subtly when Ronan moaned in reply.

"They planet," he answered, and Ronan rolled his eyes.

"That's a terrible joke," he said. "I can't imagine you at parties."

Adam used his free hand to shove hard at Ronan's shoulder.

"Dick," he said.

Ronan winced, but then used to that to his advantage and winced again louder and more dramatically for he supposed the cameras. His own free hand went to strike at the wall.

They were kind of terrible at this, but also kind of brilliant. At the very least, Adam was having a blast.

"Oh yeah," Adam said breathily. He scooted further up Ronan's lap as he was slipping off at the back, and felt him cringe underneath him with his whole body.

"Relax, Lynch." Adam nuzzled into his cheek, which upon doing so, recognized it was a bad idea.

Ronan wasn't having fun with this, although Adam felt he should. He bit at Ronan's cheek to stir a reaction and felt Ronan snort a thin laugh as he strained to push him off.

"Oh, yeah," Ronan responded, his voice monotone but loud. "Yeah. Give it to me." He sounded like he was bored having this fake sex.

"Ronan, come on. Think of how funny it was when you saw the shocked faces at the restaurant."

Ronan paled. Even in this light, Adam could see that. "Precisely why I'm having trouble," he whispered. "I know them."

"Oh yeah." Adam had to think fast on his feet. The game was telling them to stop messing around. "Here. Close your eyes."

"Why?" Ronan squinted.

Adam gave him a withered look until he caved and closed them. Once he did, Adam kissed him a little, just a tiny thing beyond a peck, and then whispered, "Pretend I'm the banana."

Ronan looked like he was trying to find the humor in the situation, but came up short.

"The fuck?"

"Think of the situation like you did with the banana," Adam repeated. "I'm the banana."

"Yeah, repeating the word banana isn't helping explain it better," said Ronan, and he sounded annoying about it.

Adam rolled his eyes. "It's fake," he said. "We've heard some of these sounds before, earlier," he quickly glanced at his phone in memory it was recording. "What's the hangup?"

"It's my church," Ronan said through clenched teeth. "And it's you. If I had to do another one man show, then whatever. I'd suck it up." Adam snorted at his phrasing. "But this is... so weird."

Adam shrugged. "I think it's kind of fun," he said.

Ronan opened his eyes. "Of course you do."

"Yeah," Adam shouted, faking the panting he would be experiencing if this were remotely real. "That's it. Just like that. Oh Go-"

Ronan cupped his hand over Adam's mouth, surprising him. He shook his head and Adam smirked at him under his palm. It was clear Ronan wasn't going to enjoy this, but that didn't mean Adam had to suffer. It was a dare. Deep down this game was still meant to be fun, deep deep down, and damn it Adam was going to enjoy it. If Ronan couldn't see it was at least a little funny, he was missing out.

After Ronan dropped his hand back down, Adam went back to faking the sounds. He forced some out of Ronan after a while, building up a rhythm with him. They grunted, they moaned, they spoke loudly, although it was usually Adam who spoke since Ronan was still out of his element.

But Adam could have fun with that. He eagerly punched at the wall to make it sound like they were really into it, and made the sounds that sold the story along with it. He laughed as Ronan started to blush, though very aware that if Ronan was as into this as him he would be blushing too.

Adam wanted to kiss him, but he was pretty certain that if he kissed him now, at the peak of it, this would end in actual sex in a church, which Adam was not prepared for.

Adam was enjoying it more than he suspected the game wanted him to, but he didn't care. It was fun. It was funny. He liked the way Ronan was staring at him, and he liked the feeling of his subtle touches at his waist. When he pressed his face to Ronan's shoulder to amplify the sound through the box, he especially liked the way Ronan smelled, the way he turned his head a little to breathe him in as well. The noises were something else entirely, but was practical. He knew they were fake, that they meant nothing. But even so, Adam wasn't a robot. A little part of him was dying inside same as it was for Ronan, but he wanted to win.

After a while they seemed to reach the end of it, the climax of their fake ordeal. Adam breathily shouted  _ yes _ again and again and again as he started to move in rhythm to his shouting. Ronan's hands squeezed at his waist as he banged on the wall. When he faked the last little grunt, he expelled all his energy into it and then collapsed into a snickering mess against Ronan's shoulder.

But Ronan didn't respond back. He was eerily silent against him, and very still.

"Ronan?"

At once he turned his face into him and kissed Adam with a softness that made him dizzy. Hesitant, Ronan breathed against Adam's lips, even though he was the one who initiated it. Adam enjoyed it a little too much, still running off the high from before, and pushed into Ronan until he was pinned against the wall. In response, Ronan moaned, for real this time. It was the loudest moan Ronan let out the whole time.

And that's when Adam realized everyone else outside had gone silent. It was either the church was praying again, or now became aware of them, and either way they undoubtedly heard the final act. Now he was left to blush as he looked over at Ronan to see his expression. With a tilt of his phone he could see Ronan staring back looking absolutely horrified. 

"What?"

The ping went off and both their screens illuminated with DARE COMPLETE, allowing Ronan to scramble the expression on his face to something less disturbed.

Quick, Adam tucked his phone away and scooted off Ronan's lap as much as he could. He peeled open the door to the confession box and looked out at the crowd to see if the coast was clear. Everyone appeared to be looking around and trying to figure out where the sounds came from. Luckily no one seemed to suspect anyone would have sex in the confession box.

Adam took hold of Ronan's hand and moved to stand.

"We should go," he advised.

"No." Ronan recoiled as much he could with what little room there was to move. "I can’t go out there."

"Okay." Adam was tired. "Stay here then."

He stood up and banged his head again against the roof, but reluctantly lived with it as he opened the door wider.

"Adam-" Ronan hissed. He was cut off as Adam stepped out.

Eyes began to turn to meet him as he revealed himself. Self consciously, he ran a hand down the front of his shirt as he studied the gazes of those around him. They were slowly catching on to what it was he had been doing in there, and now he could see the lack of humor in the situation.

Hands were grabbing at him from behind, but he was familiar enough with their touch by now to know it was Ronan. Ronan, who clung to him as he awkwardly waved at the crowd. Ronan who was hiding behind him, which was nearly impossible as he was a very tall boy.

"What a lovely night to pray," Adam said. He was definitely going to hell for this, if he believed in such a thing.

Together as a unit of two, Adam began to step off to the left towards the exit, keeping his eyes on the crowd to avoid getting grabbed from behind.

"Walk faster," Ronan hissed behind him.

"Stop clinging to me," he hissed back.

A woman stood out from the crowd and tilted her head to one side, and then her eyes went wide.

"Ronan?" she said.

Ronan froze behind him, and Adam froze with him.

"Ronan, oh my word," said the woman. "What are you  _ doing _ ? Was that  _ you _ ?"

"Uh-"

Even though he couldn't see him, he could hear the panic in Ronan's voice.

The woman before him was beautiful, tall, and blonde. Ronan's mom, he presumed. He almost raised his hand to introduce himself when Ronan grabbed him at the waist and started to run out.

"You get your butt back here, Ronan!" she exclaimed, as the entire crowd reacted to their departure. He could've sworn he heard a small clap somewhere amongst all the yelling. "Ronan!"

They ran out the door and down the block, well past Ronan's motorcycle to a point where the sidewalk ended and they were met with a a crosswalk instead. Ronan doubled over as they stopped, taking a moment to catch his breath. He looked to still be reeling from it all as Adam checked his phone for any new messages. He didn't know what else to do here. Ronan was genuinely shaken, and when he reached for him he pushed his hand away.

"I am so grounded," he said, playing it off as a joke, but genuinely sounding concerned.

"You okay there buddy?" he asked.

Ronan shot him a look, still having trouble breathing right.

"We're both going to hell," he said. 

Adam nearly rolled his eyes but held off the urge.

"Okay, it’s not like we  _ actually  _ had sex in a church, though," he argued.

All Ronan replied with was his struggled breathing. He stood straight again for a moment and looked around them like he expected a mob to appear any second now.

"It was kind of fun," Adam said, hoping to get him to converse better. He followed Ronan's gaze until Ronan finally looked at him again.

"I swore for a second there that you really…." He closed his eyes.

"That I really what?" Adam frowned.

Ronan began to wave his arms in front of him, and it took a few good waves for Adam to catch on to the suggestion. He laughed.

"Oh shit, Lynch." He put a hand over his mouth to try to suppress the laughter. It wasn't working. "You can’t be serious."

"It sounded real."

Adam's hand fell in tempo with Ronan blushing and looking rather angry about it.

"Haven’t you seen that one movie,  _ When Harry met Sally _ ?" Adam asked, and watched as Ronan's brow knitted together.

"No," he said. "That sounds boring."

"I mean, a little," Adam confessed, shrugging, "but that’s not the point." He touched at Ronan's face, at where his mood had visibly soured and twisted after what they did in there. "Shit, that really rattled you."

"My faith is not a joke," Ronan replied. He was nearly vicious in his tone, but the fact he didn't push Adam away suggested his anger was directed elsewhere. "I don’t think I can ever go back there again."

It was evident there was no way he could make Ronan feel better with words, and so he pulled him in closer to hug him. Ronan gave in to it easily, collapsing into the embrace with his whole body. Adam didn't mean to mock his faith, to make him feel this way at all. His intention was for them to have fun again tonight, when it felt like a long time ago that they did. Maybe their next dare would be less damaging, though he highly doubted it.

A black SUV pulled up to the curb next to where they were standing, and Adam shivered. It was exactly like the one from earlier tonight. He held one of Ronan's hands out of instinct.

"You two the magician and greywaren?" a voice shouted out from behind the tinted black window.

"Uh, yeah," Ronan grunted. He glared at the car like he was about to smash it. "What the fuck’s it to you?"

The front passenger seat window rolled down, revealing an attractive older couple that both peeked out together at them. The woman had short blonde hair and sunglasses even though it was almost one in the morning. The man, sitting in the driver’s seat, dark hair slicked back. The pair looked to be wearing matching dark colored clothes, which only made this more absurd and strange.

The woman had a lollipop in her mouth, and she pulled it out to talk again.

You look more pathetic in person,” she noted, and Adam had to hold Ronan back from moving toward the car. “Emo kid and trailer twink. You’ve just been lucky so far, but you don’t know what you’re doing. You’re not meant to win this. You don’t deserve it.”

“Who the  _ fuck _ are  _ you _ ?” Adam scowled. He was on the verge of letting Ronan free to possibly key their car.

The woman raised an eyebrow and smirked, sucking on her lollipop again for effect. They looked like assholes.

“We’re the Greenmantles,” the man in the driver’s seat explained. “Are you two trying to take our spot in the finals?”

“Finals?” Adam looked to Ronan. He appeared to know what they were talking about, but didn’t look to be in the expressive mood to tell him what that was. Instead, he looked to stand a little straighter, his glare a little more venomous than before

“Fuck off, you old creeps,” he snarled.

“Hey.” The woman took her lollipop out of her mouth. “No need for such foul language, especially from children.” She smiled viciously with bright red lipstick. Adam didn’t want to be a part of this conversation anymore.

“We’re not children-“ he started.

She waved her hand and tossed her lollipop out the window.

“I don’t care,” she said.

“We want the money, and you pricks aren’t going to get it,” said the man. “Quit while you’re ahead, kiddos.”

“While you  _ have  _ heads,” the woman added sweetly.

“That’s a good one,” the man said, pointing to her, praising her. She didn’t look to enjoy it. “I like that, Piper.”

“Aw, Colin.” She pushed her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose and motioned to him something he looked to understand the meaning of. “Shut up. Drive away now.”

And so they did.

Colin and Piper Greenmantle. What a bunch of pricks.

When they drove away, Adam looked to Ronan, more confused than anything.

“Did they just… threaten us?”

But Ronan wasn’t paying attention, as he was taking his phone out instead to look at something else. He opened up the app, but not in search of a dare. He touched at screens Adam didn’t even know it had, and then turned the phone around to express his intrigue with a small smile building on his face.

“We’re two of the top five players in the city right now,” he said.

Adam folded his arms, expecting more information than that.

“Explain,” he said.

Ronan’s smile turned playful as he turned his phone back around to examine it. Suddenly the whole  _ I’m going to hell for having fake sex in a church in front of my mom  _ thing was washed away, and he was smiling again, energized for some strange reason about this whole position thing. All Adam was thinking about was how handsome Ronan looked, but also how horrible those two creeps were.

“It means if we make it to the top by the end, we win the grand prize,” Ronan explained.

“Grand prize.” Adam tilted down his phone down so he would have to look at him. The sound of a grand prize was like music to him, even though it meant they were competing against the Greenmantles. He hoped it meant they weren’t going to see each other again, but the chance of it sounded more likely than not if they were already this upset.

“Grand prize is a million dollars,” Ronan said, and Adam swore he felt his heart skip a beat. “If you make it-“

“Wait, stop.” Adam put a hand to Ronan’s shoulder as he caught what he was saying. “If  _ we _ make it,” he corrected. “Partners, remember?”

Ronan chewed his lip for thought. His brow rose elegantly in his excitement. “We can split it,” he suggested. “Whoever wins.”

Adam nodded eagerly, and could feel the adrenaline rushing through him again just on the thought alone. He was grinning at Ronan, just as Ronan was grinning at him. “Yeah,” he said, somewhat bewildered that they even had a  _ chance  _ at this. “Fuck. I could live debt free all four years of college.”

Ronan was laughing. “I love that that's where your mind goes when you think of winning $500,000,” he said, fingering at the side of Adam’s head with one hand. He knew he was starting to blush, but he was smiling so much he couldn’t care less. He very much wanted to kiss Ronan, but now was not the time.

“We’ve been good together all night,” Ronan said. “We might just make it.”

“And if we don’t?” Adam couldn’t help but think of the other possibilities. Weighing their options. “Do we lose all our money?”

Ronan shrugged. “I don't know,” he admitted.

The possibility of loss was great, but the possibility of profit was even greater. Tonight Adam was full of risk.

“I’m in.” Before Ronan could add his opinion on the matter, Adam added, “A part of me really wants to piss those fuckers off and beat them.”

Ronan flashed him his wild smile, the one that he first came into contact with that night, the one full of danger and adventure wrapped together.

“Let’s give these dipshits the show of their lives then,” he agreed.

“And hopefully not die in the process,” Adam thought to say aloud.

“That’s half the fun to you isn’t it?” Ronan teased.

Adam grabbed at his shoulder in mild annoyance and rolled his eyes, and was then promptly dragged into a very eager kiss.

Even if they didn’t win the money, Adam was starting to accept he would be alright with that. He already felt like a winner tonight. He met Ronan.

He was pretty sure if he confessed this out loud, Ronan would pretend to gag.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and now we've met the villains of our story. don't worry there's still much hijinks and awkward flirting ahead <3
> 
> thanks for reading! <3 please leave a comment if you can i love receiving them <3
> 
> once again please ignore the fact mass wouldn't happen this late lol


	13. pieces of art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was then he noticed, as Ronan started to come down from his fit of anger, there by the back tire, was another lollipop freshly licked. His eye twitched.  
> “Those Greenmantle assholes sabotaged us,” he said.

Upon their return to Ronan’s motorcycle, they found the front tire had been slashed. Ronan kicked at the building he parked by in rage over the loss, which Adam found strange considering whoever slashed the tire left their helmets and everything else intact.

As Ronan cursed a string of words that Adam never would’ve thought poetic before, Adam was searching on his phone for emergency car services, but came up with nothing that was open this late. Of course.

It was then he noticed, as Ronan started to come down from his fit of anger, there by the back tire, was another lollipop freshly licked. His eye twitched.

“Those Greenmantle assholes sabotaged us,” he said.

When he pointed to the evidence, Ronan picked it up by the end that hadn’t been in Piper’s mouth and chucked it across the parking lot. Adam watched the faint little thing smash on the ground in the distance.

“Fucking dickwads!” Ronan shouted, his words echoing into the late night.

“Can't say I'm surprised,” Adam noted, and Ronan turned to him. “They don't seem like they play fair.”

Ronan growled as he stepped forward and into him. He still had that look full of rage, but it slowly eased away with each step he took toward him. It was nearly all gone when he bent and pressed his forehead to Adam’s neck, exhaling sharply at his throat.

“What do we do?” he asked. Adam almost inquired why it was that he was expected to have the answer, but he supposed he was the one with the answers most of the night. He ran a hand up and down the length of Ronan’s back, feeling him sag in his arms. All that hate and frustration withered away until he was slowly and evenly breathing.

“There’s always the bus,” Adam said.

Ronan grunted. “It’s not very dependable at night,” he said.

“We could borrow my friend’s car maybe-“

“Oh.” Ronan removed his head from Adam’s shoulder, and then removed himself completely from Adam to make a phone call. He left him in the dark of what he was doing, and walked away a few steps, and Adam wasn’t too happy about it. He stomped over to give Ronan a what for when Ronan wheeled back round, smiling again just enough Adam hesitated.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “See you when you get here.”

He hung up, and as he pocketed his phone, Adam pushed a little at Ronan’s leathered shoulder.

“Who was that?” he said.

“Gansey,” Ronan said, His hands reached for Adam’s waist, and Adam inclined into him to let him touch him. “He’s on the way over. Lending us his car for the night.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “Stole my idea, then?” he said.

“I didn’t know you invented borrowing a ride, Parrish,” Ronan said snarkily. “I’ll remember to reference you each time I do it in the future. _Parrish invented borrowing cars, everyone, but anyway - I was wondering if I could borrow yours_?”

“You’re such a jackass.”

Annoyed, Adam pushed a little harder at the same shoulder, but allowed himself to be swept up into a kiss just in time to hear Ronan’s phone ring.

“Don’t get it,” he mumbled, pushing Ronan up against the wall of the parking lot. In turn, Ronan’s hands were feeling up his sides.

“Could be important,” Ronan noted.

“Mm.” Adam shook his head. “I’m sure it can wait.”

He felt Ronan laugh into the kiss, but then his hands were gone and then the ringing stopped.

“Hello?” Ronan mumbled, Adam’s lips still attached to his. They didn’t usually have much free time in between dares, and he was taking advantage of what time they had. “Hell-o - Adam. Stop.”

“You're no fun."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Roughly fifteen minutes later they heard the rumbling of an engine coming closer, which Adam judged by Ronan’s peaked interest meant it was Gansey on his way. The source of the rumbling pulled into the parking lot, something Adam wouldn’t have pegged to be what Gansey owned as a car. It was a vibrantly orange and old Camaro, which Ronan whispered in his ear was known as the Pig. Behind it, Henry and Blue pulled in their less ostentatious car.

They all stepped out at the same time, Blue and Gansey glancing at each other nervously and Henry and Noah oblivious. Adam wondered what any of this meant, but now wasn't the point.

He was determined to kick the Greenmantles' asses.

He crossed the way to Ronan and Gansey politely arguing over something trivial.

"Now, I have some ground rules before I hand over the keys," Gansey said.

Ronan groaned, just as he walked to him.

"Just give him the keys, Gansey!" Blue said.

"Did something happen while we were at the church?" Adam asked.

"A lot," Noah said, but he didn't stop to explain further. Adam supposed he'd have to wait to find out what that meant.

"No speeding," Gansey said to Ronan, listing off what can't happen in the Pig. "No eating. No drinking. No running of red lights. No honking. No illegal activities-"

"They're on an illegal dare app," Henry argued.

Gansey paused, gave Henry a once over and then a politician smile that edged on insulting, then turned back to Ronan and continued counting on his fingers. "And definitely no sex."

Adam coughed out a laugh, although Ronan had a subtler, more painful reaction.

"So no fun!" he said. He was swift as he swiped the keys from Gansey, then grabbed Adam's hand to hurry him inside it.

"After you,"

"Also, remember that-"

"I remember that it sticks," Ronan answered, though Adam was curious what exactly stuck. The gear shift? The door? He started looking around inside. It smelled old, like gasoline and leather and a wealthy teenage boy's expensive toy. He ran a hand over the dashboard, impressed by the solidness of it. This would do them nicely in the race, he thought. Much better than the shit car the Greenmantles had.

He was still stroking the dashboard when he realized Ronan had slid into the driver's seat beside him, looking very much in place here.

He would have never pegged Gansey for owning such a beast, but it was a good car. It roared to life when Ronan turned the ignition on.

"See you at the finish line," Noah said with a smile.

"Bring this back in one piece," said Gansey sternly. "Also good luck."

"You be safe, or I'll kill you," said Blue on the open window Adam's side. She touched at his shoulder through the space, and Adam flashed her a nervous smile.

"And kick some asses," said Henry last.

At once, Ronan slid across the car and onto his front to lean over him and out the open window. He glanced up at Adam's friends, and with his proximity Adam could smell his cologne on his neck.

"I'll bring it back in one piece," Ronan said to Gansey, "and will do." He flashed a cheeky grin as he winked at Henry, who looked flustered for a second.

He pulled back to his side of the car and Adam looked at him, a little hot seeing him behind the wheel like this. Motorcycles and cars were apparently a kink. Who knew.

"Are you flirting with my friends?" Adam asked him.

"No." Ronan flashed him that same grin. "I'm flirting with danger."

"Oh god." Adam rolled his eyes and barely had time to buckle his seat belt before Ronan shifted gears quick and screeched out of the parking lot in a flurry.

It probably gave Gansey a heart attack.

They only drove a few blocks before they received their next dare, to draw on a billboard, any billboard. It didn't take long for Ronan to find one he preferred, one of the ones for jeans.

Climbing up wasn't difficult, so long as they found the right roof. It was getting the supplies that would be hard. Keeping straight faces at the all night drugstore as they bought kids paint kits was strange. Stranger still was being spotted exiting, as the couple that had taken the dare app by storm.

Adam didn't like this notoriety that came attached to everything. He didn't want to be spotted and ogled like this. Not for all they've done tonight. Not for faking sex in a church and running half naked in a department store. He supposed there were worse things to be famous for, but this was enough he got a little overwhelmed.

Until they were back on the road to head to the billboard and Adam got a text with a link to the Greenmantles' stream.

"Look," Adam said, watching them on mute. He couldn't bear to listen to them talking again, and hardly could stand to look at their faces. Never mind that they both were pretty, they only reminded him of everything he hated.

And when the Pig made a loud clunking sound for half a second he remembered again what they did.

They were on the subway doing something far more illegal than this, he reckoned, but Adam didn't watch for long. It only gave them more views.

They climbed up to the billboard, and Ronan handed Adam one of the brushes.

"I realize we'll have to make big strokes to make it easily seen," Ronan noted.

"That's what she said," said Adam.

Ronan glanced at him with a fleeting hint of amusement. That joke was dated and also didn't quite apply here. He should've said that's what he said, but now he was overanalyzing a terrible joke to begin with, when really he should focus on defacing the ad.

Of course, Ronan's first idea was to eloquently draw a bunch of penises. Because they were eight.

"Be a little more artistic than that, Lynch," Adam mused. He held his phone up to show the world Ronan's terrible art. "This isn't going to win anything decent if we can't get past juvenile level graffiti."

"Excuse me," Ronan scoffed. "Penises are beautiful." And Adam feared falling from laughing so hard. "Besides, David is considered a piece of priceless art and he has a penis."

"But he's not just a penis."

Adam couldn't believe how many times they just said the word penis. He shook his head and moved his attention and phone both back to what he was drawing. The views continued to rise as they worked, and now he felt determined to make them in order to win this, in order to run it in the faces of Piper and-

"What are _you_ drawing over there-?" Ronan stepped closer to look, and cut himself off. "Oh. Oh wow."

Adam had spent his own time and energy painting Ronan's tattoo, though not as intricate and detailed. An outline of what he had sketched onto his back.

"That's not fair," Ronan said softly. He didn't understand what made him glassy eyed. Was he annoyed?

"It didn't say we had to be original," Adam defended. "Note yours is the epitome of unoriginality."

"You're smart and sexy and you can draw?" Ronan took a swipe at Adam's cheek with his brush. It was cold and slimy, leaving a streak of black on his cheek. "I hate you."

Adam laughed as he used the back of his hand to wipe it off, likely smearing it instead. "You think I'm sexy?"

Ronan looked away. "No. I said you're sweaty."

"Sure." Adam raised his phone to film his own face, to see how much paint was still there at his cheek. "Lynch, can I ask a silly question?"

"Aren't all your questions silly?" Ronan teased. He was painting something new, something he had hidden around him so Adam and the world couldn't yet see what it was. So Adam started defacing the ad in a more particular way, giving the girl more easily reached funny designs on her face.

"Do you think if we met outside of this, you would've liked me at all?"

Ronan paused his brush and was swift to look over his shoulder. The both of his shoulders slacked at the influence of Adam's anxiety in his question, in his self consciousness.

"Parrish, isn't it obvious?" Adam's heart beat escalated faster than through all the dares they did tonight. "I'm shallow, and you're hot. Of course I would like you in any scenario."

It was Adam's turn to swipe his brush across Ronan's cheek, and he added his ear and his neck for good measure. His laugh was sure to echo out into the wild night, a crazed hyena sound that felt like it came from a deeper place than all his laughs before.

He was so taken by Ronan that all his bad jokes had him captivated.

"What have you been drawing over there, by the way?" Adam motioned for Ronan to move, which he only did now to give Adam a clear view of what it was he painted. It was obvious Ronan could draw, from his sketch and from his own tattoo's design. But seeing his skills displayed so boldly on the billboard made Adam almost miss a step. Ronan caught him before he felt the five feet onto the roof, before he embarrassed himself even more tonight.

A magician to match Adam's tattoo stared back at him in eerie detail, matched with the part of Adam's tattoo that actually sat forever inked on his skin even now. A foreign shiver escalated up his spine staring into the eyes of the figure, wondering what secrets he held, what secrets the rest of the night did as well.

Instead of asking Ronan why he drew that, since he was still filming this after all, he touched discreetly at Ronan's lips with his stained fingertips, moving to kiss him while the camera was still staring at the billboard.

"Draw me!" Adam then suggested. Ronan looked like he could give him a heart attack with a sketch. He smiled, posing excessively. He lifted his chin just as Ronan rolled his eyes.

"Only because I paint beautiful things," he said, and Adam felt the heat rush to his face wicked quick.

"You asshole," he said, whispering it because his voice was stuttering.

When Ronan started to paint again, there were sirens underneath. Adam thought nothing of it, but Ronan moved him aside to lean over the rail. When he pulled back, he was dragging Adam's arm along.

"What?" Adam recognized the panic in his face and quickly peered over the side for himself, before allowing Ronan to drag him off. There were several police cars parked down below on the street, which meant they were here for them.

"How did they know?"

Adam asked this as they were climbing down the billboard and making a run for the roof entrance across the way.

"We weren't exactly subtle!" Ronan motioned to the billboard, so evidently defaced.

His phone beeped as they made their way to the door, running for it, even though the cops were probably just inside.

 

_Don't get caught by the cops_ \- $700

 

"Ronan." Adam was already out of breath by the time they reached the door. "Look at this."

He showed his phone to Ronan, who barely took a second to glance at it before accepting. Their old dare was completed by default as now they were officially running from the cops.

Great.

"If we get arrested-" Adam started.

Ronan opened the door to the stairs, pausing before walking in. "We aren't getting arrested." He said it so matter of fact that Adam felt almost convinced they weren't getting arrested. What he wanted to say was if they did, he wouldn't ditch him. He wouldn't blame him. He would still consider this the best night of his life thus far.

But he didn't get a chance to say any of that, because on the other side of the door just down the stairs were six cops all walking up to them. When spotted, the cops shouted not to move and put their hands up, and that's when Ronan slammed the door and used the kid's plastic paint brush in his hand to barricade the door and likely give them barely an extra second of time. If that.

Adam was laughing, though winded, as Ronan grabbed his hand again and ran back towards the billboard.

"We have to jump," he said.

"Jump?" His heart leapt to his throat. "Jump where?"

The cops were now officially giving chase behind them, yelling to stop.

Adam glanced behind, but Ronan cut his action off before he properly took a look. They were running towards the other closest roof to them, a roof ten feet away _at least_ and a good floor shorter. This was impossible. Adam was good at weights and cars and moving bales of hay and feed. He was not a sprinter, he was not a leaper, and he was definitely not good with heights as represented earlier that evening.

He gulped just seeing it in the distance.

"It's the only way off without dying or being shoved in the back of a cop car," Ronan declared. He gripped Adam's hand tighter, like a sign of unity or maybe out of similar fear he found in himself.

Adam wasn't doing this because of the dare, although it oddly helped to know he would get paid for doing what he already thought of doing. He wasn't about to get arrested for this game. He was so close to the finish line.

So close to getting to end this with Ronan at his side.

They reached the edge of the roof line and Adam felt something crawl up his throat, maybe bile.

"You go first," he said. He motioned to him, to know what it was he would have to do to jump. He's never done anything like this before, and judging by the look in Ronan's eye, neither did he. 

"Parrish, no." He was still holding his hand, and he raised it to his lips to give his knuckles a faint kiss. "Don't be ridiculous. Together, or not at all."

Adam smiled and resisted the urge to look behind them. The shouting was getting closer and he feared any second he would feel the rough grip of a hand on his arm. With a gulp, he nodded. 

They both took several quick paces back, and then Adam heard the shouting get eerily close. He looked behind them to see the police close enough to be dangerous, and that's when he bolted forward early, taking Ronan along at an awkward length behind.

"Parrish, wait--"

And Adam couldn't stop himself. Still trying to retain his grip on Ronan's hand, he jumped, but somewhere in the middle someone let go and Adam closed his eyes out of fear of seeing what lay below in the gap and falling to his death.

He felt himself going back down again and he only opened his eyes to make sure if he went short he could try to grab onto something on his way down, but in that moment he crash landed onto the other roof, sore and pained, but fortunately nothing too serious. When he heard the shouting fainter than before, he was swift to his feet to examine what happened. Looking up, he saw the police debating to follow or not. Adam then looked around for Ronan, realizing they'd let go and of course he blamed himself.

He looked for him, and his stomach seized when he didn't see him.

"Lynch?" he called out. He moved to look, horrified, over the roof's edge, when a hand pulled his again to drag him from it.

"That's not the way down, smartypants," Ronan called to him. And Adam had half a mind to stop running and embrace him right here.

"You're okay," he said, as they continued running.

They had to leap over to another roof to muddle the trail, but this one was easier, infinitely so without the police breathing down their backs.

"Of course I'm okay," Ronan said with a grin. "You're not hurt, are you?" He glanced over his shoulder at him as they started descending down a stairwell in what appeared to be an apartment complex. "You had a nasty jump."

"No, I'm fine." Adam felt luck was on his side tonight again and again.

When they reached ground level, they took a peek out the front doors of the building to see the police down the block. Still holding hands, Ronan gently opened the door as discreetly and limited as possible, sliding out the tiny gap he gave himself. Adam followed suit, and promptly ducked down to a crouch when he was outside.

The cops were looking for them still, and they slid off the side of the stoop steps and down into an alleyway that led to the adjacent street. Their car was smartly parked this direction anyway, likely Ronan having thought about an escape like this when he picked the space. Adam simply assumed it was out of convenience, but he guessed wrong.

The second they were in the car, his phone beeped off with a date complete message, and he shouted out of joy through the open window.

Ronan was staring at him all the while, smiling when he thought to look over. The Pig roared to life again when their eyes met.

"You get really excited every time we finish a dare," he noted. 

"I mean, don't you?" The adrenaline was coursing through him like a race was being had in his veins. He was breathing rashly, his smile so loose he didn't know how to frame it anymore.

"You like the rush." Ronan's hand found his, turning it over so they could connect again. "I mean, you really like it."

Adam felt known. He shrugged, unable to properly answer him.

With a whisper, Ronan teased, "Does it turn you on?"

"Stop talking, Lynch, and kiss me."

Eagerly, Ronan obliged. He could just hear Gansey screaming _no kissing_ _in the car_ wherever else he was in the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! <3 please leave a comment if you can i love receiving them <3
> 
> next dare involves getting bare ;) i hate the wink emoji. anyway!!! tell me your thoughts, love you readers!!


	14. bare yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Go skinny dipping in Central Park - $3,000
> 
>  
> 
> "Oh."
> 
> Ronan peered up from his phone with a flush already blooming across his face, starting at his ears. Adam was going to have fun with this one. Though, the thought of being naked in front of Ronan and their cameras wasn't so delightful.

Adam had a lot of texts from his friends when there was a moment to check them, charging their phones in the car while they awaited their next dare, making out in the brilliant quiet of no phone recordings.

He chose to ignore them, because honestly he wanted to live in the moment right now. Apparently so did Ronan, when he knocked their phones onto the floor by his feet as Adam fleetingly thought to reach for his after someone started to call.

Tonight was going to give him a heart attack, and more so when he checked to see they were still neck and neck to the Greenmantles, who currently were said to be stealing a police car. He smirked, hopeful they would get caught and arrested.

"Stop looking at that," Ronan demanded. He pushed his phone down to get a better angle at Adam's neck. Making out in the Pig was certainly a skill they were learning, and what better way to learn than practice.

But life didn't always go the way they wanted it to.

One of their phones beeped, that dismal sound they knew could only come from a dare.

 

_Go skinny dipping in Central Park_ \- $3,000

 

"Oh."

Ronan peered up from his phone with a flush already blooming across his face, starting at his ears. Adam was going to have fun with this one. Though, the thought of being naked in front of Ronan and their cameras wasn't so delightful.

It was a quiet drive to Central Park. Ronan parked close enough, almost driving _into_ the park he was so visibly nervous. His hands were jittery at the wheel, placed correctly at 10 and 2. His fingers rapped against it every time he had to pause.

When they parked, he didn't move an inch after they stopped. Adam could only watch this quiet meltdown, internalized in Ronan's wide eyes that stared forward.

"I'm not sure I feel comfortable with this," he confessed.

Adam agreed, but at the same time he wanted to tell Ronan to buck up. "When do we ever feel comfortable with a dare?" he said.

"There was that nice one at the start, to kiss one another." Ronan smiled, thinking on it.

"Mm, that wasn't comfortable for me at the time," Adam admitted. 

"I'm insulted."

"I didn't know you then. If I had, I would never have kissed you."

With a start, Ronan began to laugh. His eyes closed quick, hands coming to hold at his waist. Adam smiled shamelessly.

The clock was ticking, so he tried to move them through this faster. Ronan could continue his existential crisis at the water. Unbuckling his seat, Adam then unbuckled Ronan's, pushing him to get out of the car.

"Besides, we've already seen mostly everything," he said. He stood once he was sure Ronan was going to get out with him. Across the roof of the car, he watched Ronan rise, then turn to stareback at him. When their eyes met like this, he was finding it was a challenge to hold his gaze without looking away first, even though Ronan's stare was fueled by a hunger he understood quite well tonight.

"What's the harm?" he added.

"Um, embarrassing myself?" Ronan's eyes darted downward. "Having this be shown to my mother?"

"We'll angle the camera so no one sees anything," Adam replied. "This isn't a snuff film."

Ronan grunted. "You angle your eyes, too," he said. "I'm saving myself." He locked the car and walked off. Adam rolled the eyes in which he spoke of and followed suit.

"Whatever you want, Lynch," he called out. "Not like I don't know what one looks like. I saw you give fellatio to a banana tonight. This isn't anything special."

Ronan was getting mildly better at holding in his reactions. He glanced back without any expression other than a hint of a smirk, though his ears betrayed him, faintly pinker.

"You're calling my penis nothing special?"

Adam only shrugged and Ronan scoffed.

"Well, yours isn't either!"

"Never said it was," Adam said cheerily.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

It wasn't difficult to find the water, and it wasn't difficult to sneak up to it either. This late into the night the park was dead and dark, a little morbid for something so daring.

Quietly they both toed out of their shoes and socks. Adam weighed the difference in temperature by dipping a toe into the water. It was unsurprisingly cold as hell.

"How will we keep our phones from getting wet?" Ronan was already shivering as if he were wet, when it wasn't much cooler out than it was an hour ago, which wasn't cool at all. 

"Hold it above your head," Adam said, motioning with his own, although he suspected he didn't need to use his. Only one phone would be fine, he hoped. "Simple."

"Simple..." Ronan's teeth chattered. He was being dramatic.

"Yeah. Simple." He motioned to move along. "Come on."

Being first to take off most of his clothes, Adam felt wholeheartedly terrified of this dare in a way he wasn't of the others. It was less a fear of getting hurt or in trouble, and more so a fear of Ronan's rejection. It was completely unsolicited fear, seeing as Ronan left hickies on his neck that still felt raw under the cool of the breeze. But that didn't make this fear go away.

It was chillier by the water, and he suspected the water would be like stepping into an ice bath after getting a taste on his foot. He was surely going to be arrested for this one, he thought. Were people even allowed in the water outside of a boat? He didn't know. It wasn't exactly important. They were doing this regardless.

Ronan's eyes were caught on him when he looked to him, seeing he hadn't taken anything off beyond his jacket.

"What?" Adam placed hands strategically over his chest and his groin. They'd both been seen before tonight, but now he felt more seen with Ronan's clothes still on.

"Nothing." Ronan swallowed and looked away.

"Your turn." Adam gruffly gestured to hurry up. They only had a couple more minutes before they had to get in the water. This was such an odd dare when no one was around. Was this the right water to get into? He'd been to Central Park once or twice before, but now he was second guessing himself on the location. He suspected there would be more eyes on them. Or maybe the mortification of being naked with each other was enough for the creeps online.

None of that mattered when Ronan started to undress. Self-conscious, he shimmied out of his clothes, except for his briefs same as Adam. His legs were hairier than Adam remembered from hours ago, his chest perked from the cold. His skin looked so soft, and he wanted to touch at where he had a scar near his naval, but then he realized he had been doing what Ronan did to him earlier.

When his eyes drifted upward, Ronan's brow was raised in amusement. His face was beet red.

"Get a good look, did you?"

"Shut up." Adam cleared his throat and ducked his head. "On three?"

"I guess," Ronan said, disinterested. 

"Okay. One."

"Two."

"Three."

They both yanked off their underwear and ran into the water at the same time, Ronan gently pushing at Adam's shoulder on the way in. It was so cold once they stepped inside, intentionally going in to the point their feet no longer touched the bottom and they had to paddle with their hands. Adam was holding Ronan's phone when he felt his whole body seize up. He turned around and then looked at Ronan. He didn't get a look at him when he ran, a glance at his bare ass but beyond that nothing. It was nice, for the split second he caught a look, but other than that he had been more focused on not dropping the phone into the water.

He hoped Ronan only got a glimpse of the same, although he wouldn't blame him if he saw more. His free hand instinctively went to cover himself, even if it was so dark out here and the water so murky you couldn't see much of anything. It was only fair.

"Well, that was fun." Adam looked around. He waded one handed, hoping the phone saw they were naked but not the exact details. "How long do you think we have to be in here?"

"Relax, it's actually nice in here," Ronan countered. A surprising change of heart since the shore.

"Relax? Weren't you the one not five minutes ago panicking about the very idea of me and the rest of the world seeing your penis?" 

"No," Ronan said, keeping his head above the water. "That was someone else."

Adam scoffed and continued wading. The city was beautiful from here, all lights and shadows at this point, quieter to a degree. It would be romantic almost if they weren't naked and in water that god knows what had been dumped in it. He caught Ronan glancing at him, glancing at his backside even. Higher up than he expected his eyes to be. He was suspicious Ronan must have gotten a decent look before he got in the water, he was being so calm suddenly.

"What?"

"Your tattoo probably shouldn't be exposed to this," he said.

Adam shrugged. "It's covered." He tried to steal a peek, but his body didn't bend that way. "Besides, I've been in worse. There was a pond near the trailer park I grew up in that I would swim in sometimes." Normally unintentionally mentioning the trailer park made him cringe or flinch, but with Ronan - who he already told about it - he felt nothing but a warmth inside that made him feel a different sort of discomfort because it was so new. "Couldn't afford the local pool entrance fee. It was horrific. I'm surprised I didn't gain an extra limb or a super power from it."

"Maybe you did."

Ronan waded closer, swimming with such ease because he had nothing to hold. When did Adam become the designated phone holder when it wasn't even his phone? He couldn't remember, and then he couldn't think much of anything, as Ronan swam so close Adam's breath stuttered. His hand lowered too close to the water, but before it fell in, Ronan took his phone and held it for him.

"Maybe your superpower is being really annoyingly smart," he thought aloud.

Adam blushed as he gave him a withering look. Ronan's gaze dropped to his mouth.

"Maybe it's being really cute that it makes me think this is some weird dream of mine and I haven't woken up from my nap this afternoon."

Adam shivered. He wasn't allowed to say these things when Adam was possibly contracting hypothermia. Ronan then leaned in to delicately kiss him, angled in such an odd way to not touch much beyond this. But Adam wanted to touch, wanted to pull him tight. Wanted to feel more of the warmth of his skin, because oh hell it was so cold in here.

He grabbed him and pulled him even closer, kissing him so feverishly. He forgot they were naked until Ronan leaned in and gasped into his mouth. Now things were getting as weird as Ronan hypothesized.

And it was grew weirder when reminded that possibly millions could see this. But it was so dark out here, and the geniuses they were didn't think about turning on a flashlight. They probably saw nothing.

Adam's chest clenched when he realized that maybe that meant they didn't complete the dare, if they saw nothing.

To keep himself from working himself into a panic attack in the water, he kissed Ronan again, less inclined into him than before, but enough he felt his hand at his waist.

" What do dogs do with their bones?" Adam asked of Ronan.

His bad jokes were back, which did not impress Ronan much.

"Is this a boner joke, because I am not-"

"Barium!" Adam chuckled to himself, and it did work at making himself feel better. Ronan snorted at his cheek.

"You're the fucking dorkiest," he said, laughing a little more when he moved to pull away. "Can't believe I'm skinny dipping with a dork."

"You should count your blessings," Adam replied. "And what was that about a boner?"

Just then, the phone beeped with the sound they both knew now as _Dare Complete_.

Once Ronan registered this, he gave into a sigh of wild relief.

"Oh thank God," he said, and he started for the shore. Adam could only move so quick, but he followed after him.

It was colder now once they stepped out, the air not friendly to wet skin. They both made this known with individual sounds of complaint, Ronan even so much as cursing at the top of his lungs.

"It's so cold now my dick shriveled up," Ronan joked.

"I'm sure there wasn't much there to begin with," Adam mused.

One handed, Ronan shoved him, inciting a small smile.

"You know that's not true," he said.

Adam's smile slipped, as he felt heat all over in reaction. He coughed, unpleasantly reminded of his thirst not moments ago. He shied his eyes from Ronan completely.

"Too far," he said. "You can towel off after me--"

They thought they were smart earlier bringing towels they found in Gansey's trunk. But when they got back to shore, there was just the one and Adam's phone.

No clothes. No second towel.

"Did we leave them further back-?"

He looked further away from the water, but found nothing. When he turned back, he found Ronan drying himself off.

"Lynch, what the hell?"

His eyes were quick to turn upward. Having now just seen Ronan's dick, Adam had - literally - seen everything. It was a lot to process, but thankfully his mind was rolling through a million things that this was not his main focus.

Ronan's own eyes had dipped down and caught on him as well, and it took Adam's hand moving to block the sight for Ronan to recognize he'd been staring. He blinked, dazed, and turned to the side.

"Are they there?" Ronan asked.

"Nope. And that's my towel."

The towel in question was then tossed onto his face.

"Thanks," he said, edging on aggravation. It was wet.

As he thought to towel himself off, careful of his tattoo and careful to not expose himself to Ronan any longer, their phones went off at the same time again.

Another dare. So quick.

He covered himself best he could to bend down and check his phone.

 

_Find your clothes in 10 minutes. xo PG_ \- $1

 

Of course. Their clothes had been stolen. Adam compared his message to Ronan's, and the both of them looked to one another with a thin rage building inside. 

"Oh, now this is a fucking scavenger hunt?" Ronan hissed.

"For a dollar," Adam reminded him.

"Who the fuck is-" Ronan's jaw clenched. "Those assholes!"

The Greenmantles, he meant, but same thing.

"They probably called the cops on us before," Adam surmised. It would make sense. The way the police approached them felt like it came from a tip and not a police car simply catching them in the act. "They really don’t want us to win," Ronan grunted.

"Isn't that cheating?" Adam thought. "Adam, they don't care about cheating." Ronan touched at his shoulder, until he remembered that hand had been covering himself. "This game doesn't exactly care about that sort of thing."

He didn't think it did, but it still wasn't fair. If they were going to play dirty, Adam wanted to play dirty as well. He thought about checking their feed for where they currently were, but at the same time they needed to find their clothes and quick. He was freezing standing out here with wet hair and a wet towel loose around his waist.

His phone rang as he was just about to hit accept, and he accepted her call instead.

"Oh, uh, hello?"

"Hi!" came from a variety of voices, and it registered it was Blue and Henry, as well as Noah and Gansey, on the line. 

"Who is PG?" Blue asked.

"Parental Guidance?" Gansey replied.

"Piper Greenmantle," Adam clarified.

"Her and her shit ass brother-" Ronan started.

"Husband, Lynch," Adam corrected.

"Whatever. They threatened us earlier."

"You’re currently one above them in the slots," Henry noted.

"And people are dropping out fast the more dangerous the dares are getting," said Noah.

"You sure you-"

"Blue, please," Gansey interjected. "Remember what we discussed earlier?"

"Right." Blue huffed into the phone. "It’s their own stupid lives they’re risking. Let them be idiots."

"Not exactly what I said-"

"They won the game in Seattle," said Noah.

Now Ronan's interest peaked. He grabbed for Adam's phone, himself, turning speaker on rather than inclining his head into Adam's ear.

"They did?" His jaw looked like it was going to break off. Adam didn't know what to do here. "Tell me more."

"They've won in several cities actually," Noah continued. "They often stay low through the ranks until they reach the end and appear and threaten other teams in ways that work around the rules. Ways that can't trace back to them, except it's obvious it's them sabotaging because they're the ones that win in the end. They're dangerous, Ronan. I think they're even responsible for--"

Ronan hung up and cursed under his breath.

"You didn't let him finish," Adam noted, though he didn't need him to finish. He said enough. The Greenmantles were more of a foe than he anticipated. This felt absurd for a game like this, for people to die or risk death just to win all this money.

But Adam felt some semblance of understanding at the same time, of what money could make people to. He didn't understand why they would keep going, though, after winning one city. Maybe it was less about the money for them.

Maybe it was the danger of it all.

He saw Ronan hit accept on both their phones at the same time, just in time to catch his when Ronan tossed it to him.

"I'll meet you back at the car."

And Ronan walked off, naked as the day he was born. But there wasn't anything funny or lustful about that storm off now, as he was battling some heavy rage inside that it didn't appear he wanted Adam to see.

"At least I have you," he said aloud to the towel.

It, of course, said nothing back.

This scavenger hunt through the park was fucked up, not even having shoes to walk through the dark. He lost Ronan quickly into it, and wondered how he was doing.

Slowly, he found several items of clothes. His socks were first, together thankfully, looped around a tree branch that at first he missed until he noticed his comments numbers were going up. They were giving him hints in here, these strangers who have been with him all night.

They told him to turn back for his socks, and he was thankful for that.

Finding his shoes were less easy, but there was a hint to find a statue, which helped him just a little. He was walking further into the park than he intended, and he actually came across a few people who gave him deep stares.

"Nothing to see here," he said. "Keep on with your evenings."

When he found his shoes, finding his shirt was even easier. These people must've watched Piper hide their clothes and made notes of where everything was. It seemed like Piper had gotten bored and started getting careless towards the end, because his shirt was just left on some bench ten feet from his shoes, and then his underwear not much farther.

His pants, however, were tricky. There were a consistent amount of different hints that didn't add up at all. People started arguing in the comments and it was possible some were trolls and some were simply mistaking his pants for Ronan's or something.

He could've lived without the shirt, but he couldn't live without the pants.

So he kept looking. The most common hint was trees again, so as he continued along the pathway through the park, his eyes were glued upward to the trees.

He found Ronan before he found his pants, who looked to already have everything on his own list, even the towel. Bastard.

"You're dressed?" Adam noted bitterly.

"Can't find my underwear," Ronan grunted. His eyes drifted down to Adam's bare legs, as he had given up on the towel once he found his briefs. "I'm assuming you haven't found your pants?"

"No, I did. This is just a look I was trying out."

"Mm."

"We have five minutes," Adam said, jutting his jaw out and moving to continue on past Ronan. A hand swooped around his wrist to hold him back.

"You upset about something?" Ronan asked.

"You ditched me." Adam jerked his hand free. "You think you're the only one whose dealing with things tonight?"

"Do you really want to compare notes?" Ronan said, his voice growing more terse as Adam settled a step back.

"My future is on the line, and sure that might not mean the same to you as losing your father, who apparently lost to these asshats, but it means a hell of a lot to me. And we said we're in this together, so when you storm away like that, it hurts you know. It's insensitive to my feelings."

Ronan appeared to not know what to say, his brow circling between low on his forehead and then high, going back and forth between them. His nostrils flared but for a second, leaving Adam uncertain what it was he was thinking.

"I'm sorry I walked away," he said.

"Thank you."

They seemed to be at a standstill, because for some reason or another the both of them were still upset. Adam couldn't even explain why he was anymore, and it was possible neither could Ronan. Maybe this is what Piper wanted, to separate them at the seams and ruin their strategy of sticking together. They worked well with one another before this, but this specific dare was causing some foreign rift. And she wasn't even the one who called them.

This felt wrong, being upset over what really was nothing. Now they only had two minutes, and he still had no pants.

"I think I saw a pair of underwear that way," Adam mumbled, pointing towards the benches he passed not long ago.

"I think your pants are in that tree over there."

They split up again to find their respective last piece of clothing, and then met up again by the Pig. A note had been gently left on the windshield under the wiper, written in pink ink.

"Your juvenile tendencies will only get you so far. Beware of your own weaknesses. We will break you. XO."

Adam watched as Ronan crumpled the note and tossed it in the gutter.

"That's littering," he said. Ronan flashed him the middle finger.

It almost made him smile.

"Do you want to talk about what just happened?" Adam looked back at the park like it was some mythical forest they just survived.

"No."

"Good. Me neither."

Quiet, they stepped into the car, sliding into their seats. The car revved to life, and Adam was thankful they didn't sabotage this one too. As Ronan prepared to reverse out of the space, he found Adam's hand in his lap, pulling it closer to hold it.

"I'm glad you're here," Ronan whispered.

Adam softened a little. "Me too."

His hair was still damp and soaking into his shoulders, and he vaguely smelled like a damp dog, but as Ronan pulled his gaze over to him he felt like he was as cute as Ronan proclaimed him to be many times tonight.

Before he started to drive, he leaned over the gear shift and kissed Adam, a brief kiss that hinted at all these fluttering emotions within them both.

Of course, a moment that nice, that simple, had to be interrupted by a new dare.

 

_Go to this club and wait for further instructions. Address at this link._

 

"That sounds like it could be fun." Ronan was of course now grinning.

"It _sounds_ like a lead in to another, worse dare." Adam soured.

"Well, we’re wet and cold," Ronan said. "Might as well get warm and buzzed."

"I don’t drink."

"Ever?" Ronan didn't hide his shock well.

Adam shook his head, and Ronan winced at him.

"This isn’t going to go well for you, then," he said.

Adam suspected not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hanks for reading! <3 please leave a comment if you can i love receiving them <3
> 
> take a guess on the next dare!!! tell me your thoughts, love you readers!!


	15. dancing until your heart stops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You smell like a sewer," she added.
> 
> "At least I know I don't belong in one, unlike you."
> 
> Piper's eyes glistened with admiration for his comeback, and her smile broadened into something more darkly.

The night club was boisterous and full. Even so, Adam still shivered despite the heat in here. Bodies swayed to the music, which Adam could physically feel course through his body. He felt so out of place here. He hoped the dare was a dance off, because at least he'd die doing something he hated.

Ronan was holding his hand the entire while, as they moved through the sea of bodies and onward. It made everything a little more tolerable, until he registered he was being moved to the dance floor.

The sight of it made him jerk his hand free. Ronan turned back to see him trying to slide away as a casualty to the bodies around them, but it didn't work like that. He was left to stand where he was.

"I don't want to dance," he said.

Ronan came closer, not to drag him still, but to touch at his face in some form of comfort.

"The boy who rode blindfolded on a skateboard in traffic, who walked across a ladder like a hundred feet up, who kissed a perfect stranger, doesn't want to dance?"

Well when he said it like that, Adam felt stupid.

"I'm not any good at it," he said.

Ronan laughed and took both of his hands.

"I'm not either," he confessed.

"Well, I could've told you that."

There was eye rolling and kissing, and dragging that last bit until they were swallowed up by everyone around them, amongst the chaos officially. Despite himself, he allowed Ronan to goad him into a small sway. They were not at all in tempo with the fast music that pulsed through their bodies like an electric current, shocking each time the bass vibrated the floor, Adam feared he was going to go completely deaf in here, it was unbearably loud and shitty music. He bet Ronan probably liked this kind of stuff.

Even so, he closed his eyes and rested his head at Ronan's shoulder. He wondered what tomorrow would look like. Would this still continue past sunrise? Was it only temporary?

He felt selfish in hoping that their admittance of attraction, that their fun together, would lead to more nights like this. Not the dangerous dares and near death experiences, but everything else. The fun they had tonight amidst the fear, the smiles and the touches and the laughs. The sharing of secrets and truths, the way Adam could stay forever in tonight and not worry what tomorrow would be like. He wanted that more than this one night. His desire motioned him to reach up for Ronan's lips again and disappear into the feeling, not taking any of it for granted.

One of Ronan's hands lowered to Adam's waist, while the other stayed at his cheek. They swayed slow and steady, not at all like the rest of the club. Adam sort of hoped they never got another message again.

"Ronan."

When Ronan didn't respond, he realized he said it too quietly and couldn't be heard over the powerful music. He leaned up and repeated into Ronan's ear.

"Ronan," he said. 

"What?" Ronan said, leaning into Adam's hearing ear.

Adam licked his lips. He needed some water. He needed a shower. He needed a nap.

"Do you want to go on a real date sometime?"

There was a quiet he didn't like, noticeable even under all this terrible music. He held his breath, unable to do anything else. This was a terrible idea, perhaps, or maybe it was the best idea. It showed where Ronan's mind was, what he thought of tonight and what he thought of tomorrow.

"You mean, you aren't sick of me yet?"

Adam smiled unwittingly.

"Funnily enough, no. You'd think I would be."

Ronan pinched his side, inciting laughter. He kissed at the skin of his cheek beside his ear, and inclined more.

"I very much want to take you on all the dates I can," he said. "I'm about to come into a lot of money, you know."

Adam laughed again. The smile on his face was burning its brightest, uncontainable. The best thing this game could've done was introduce him to Ronan.

"This has been the best date I've had," he said. "If we consider this a date."

"This has been the only date I've had," Ronan confessed. "So I don't have anything to compare it to, but I think it's been okay. Solid B."

As always, Ronan had to come in with a comment like that. Adam pulled back and gently punched him in the arm, unable to hold back any more laughter. It came rushing out like a sea of sound.

"I hate you," he said.

A hand came and cupped his cheek, fingers turning to gently run along the back of Adam's ear.

"You like me," Ronan corrected, and then he kissed him again.

Oh, they could do this all night, dare or no dare. He liked it very much, the way Ronan made him feel. He dipped into him, his whole front pressing into Ronan's. Not at all weird like at the park. Thank god.

The whole world around them washed away. It was only the two of them, somewhere else, in another place. They weren't standing in the middle of the dance floor of a grungy club, listening to terrible dance music that had too much bass and not enough originality, surrounded by drunk people that couldn't keep up to the beat.

But if only it were that simple.

He felt the vibration of his phone in his back pocket, and Ronan must have felt it too, his hand hovering just above it. Without needing to ask, he reached there, familiar enough already, and he retrieved his phone from his pocket.

 

_Steal the Greenmantles' car_ \- $40,000

 

Adam stared confused at Ronan. Ronan surprised him with a short laugh.

"They're kidding right?" he said.

 

_Your feed has gone dark until you have obtained their keys. You have 15 minutes._

 

The timer started ticking down on his phone, taking up the entire screen. Adam laughed absurdly. He didn't know what to do.

"Are they here, you think?"

There were hundreds of people in this poorly lit sound box, it was impossible to tell any of the faces apart, let alone find two in particular. Still, it was best to create a plan now.

He touched Ronan's arm to drag his attention from scanning the crowd.

"Okay," he said. "You bump into them and swipe their jackets and then we make a run for it."

"I don't think that's going to work." Ronan's brow folded. "How do I bump them and swipe their jackets?"

"One of us should be a distraction?" Adam couldn't compose a well thought out plan in a place like this.

"What happens once they realize what we're doing?" Ronan asked. 

"We make a run for it."

"Is that your entire plan?"

"Yes." He caught the back end of Ronan's scoff and he glared at him. "I'm not good on the spot like this. I need at least an hour to prepare."

"We have..." Ronan took his phone out for the time. "Thirteen minutes."

"Fuck. Oh, shit."

Without thinking, he shoved Ronan into the crowd to disappear, as Colin and Piper spotted him and made their approach. He didn't even allow himself to look to Ronan to see where he'd gone, for fear their eyes would follow the trail and find him, too.

Twelve minutes.

As Colin and Piper approached, hands came around Adam's shoulders on both sides, crowding him more than the others on the dance floor.

"Hello, boy," said Colin, clearly having forgotten his name. "Where's the other one?"

Adam caught a glance of Ronan behind, struggling to snake through the bodies without detection. It was then Adam realized they weren't even wearing their coats. He wondered where they were. Maybe the coat closet.

"He's in the bathroom!" he lied.

"Oh, fabulous!" Piper squeezed on her side of him. "Such a shame to leave you all alone though."

"We'll keep you company in the meantime," Colin mused.

"You don't have to do that," Adam said, playing along with the sharply sweet voice they had put on. He smiled so eagerly, excited to get one on them for once. If they were successful.

"Sure we do." Piper squeezed again, noticeably rough. 

"So what's your next dare?" Colin insisted.

In the distance, he spotted Ronan moving towards the tables looking for their coats, but he knew them to be smarter than that, and certainly more spoiled than that. They wouldn't leave them there. But he had no way of signaling Ronan. He would just have to figure this one out on his own.

"I just feel in the mood to dance..." He looked them both up and down, and deduced to take Piper's hand instead of Colin's. Piper was the obvious leader, the one who if left alone could snuff them out. Colin looked rather hopeless.

"Dance with me," he said to her.

Her tailored eyebrows moved down her forehead, as suspicion crawled onto her face. To their side, Colin looked more amused than concerned.

"I don't usually dance with the enemy," she said. Her bright lipstick caught the shimmer of a ceiling light as she curled her lips into a devilish smile.

"That's fair," he said, returning the favor with a challenging smile back. "But I'm sure you can't really be threatened by two teenage boys, can you? After all, you've won in several other cities before this."

She smiled even wider, a more genuine affair, as she allowed him to )drag her to the dance floor.

Once there, the dancing became almost effortless, matching whatever she did. They catered more to ballroom than club dancing, probably because it allowed them to threaten at close quarters.

"I'm impressed," she said over the music. "You've done your homework."

"That's what I'm good at," he shouted back. "Research. What are you good at?"

"A lot of things," she said, pleased with herself.

"Name one."

She laughed, her head cocking back for a brief moment. "Oh, I thought the other one would be in charge," she said, thrilled by all this. "All burly and broody, but it's you isn't it? Oh, this is going to be so fun. You know, we haven't had challengers worthwhile since the first city. But then he had to go and die on us and we were left without".

Ronan's dad? He stared at her wondering if she even knew that was Ronan's father, that they were related at all in any form. The Greenmantles had to have known? They were smarter than that not to know. The pair were playing games with lives like this was all a video game, acting like the repercussions weren't dangerous. But it _was_ real life, and the games were real.

"We're going to win," he said.

She laughed again, a cackling sound. "I genuinely doubt that," she said. "Though, I am surprised you escaped the police so elegantly. I thought we had you there for a moment."

His jaw hurt from clenching it so hard. A polished nail of hers ran down the length of his nose, citing him to stop being so visibly bothered.

"You smell like a sewer," she added.

"At least I know I don't belong in one, unlike you."

Piper's eyes glistened with admiration for his comeback, and her smile broadened into something more darkly.

Time was running out, and as they danced to this terrible music he had to wonder where was Ronan. He hoped he was in the closet, that he wasn't still at the tables. It was hard to see as they spun and swerved. He couldn't tell where anything was, dizzier than he'd like to be whenever his eyes drifted from Piper.

As he pulled his gaze back again, Piper swiped his phone and his throat closed.

"Ooh, you've gotten a timer?" Piper gleamed. "What's that about then? What are you really here for?"

They stopped motion, and it startled him eerily still. He looked to Piper, to his phone, and back to the crowd. Just beyond Colin, he spotted Ronan's reappearance. He was jangling something above his head.

He found the keys.

"To waste your time," he said.

In one quick motion he stole back his phone and then twirled her once, twice, then dipped her low on her back.

"Goodbye, Piper," he said. "See you at the finish line. Don't worry. We won't get any scratches on it... on purpose."

"What?"

He dropped her on the ground and made a run for it, the only decent part of his plan, shoving Colin into a group taking a picture behind him.

Ronan was at a standstill when he approached him fast, and he grabbed for him and pulled him into a kiss. It had the energy of a thousand suns, bright and warm and soft.

Ronan was beaming when he stepped back. "As much as I love being fawned over, we have to go."

Holding hands, they ran together and outside into the cool evening breeze. At once, both started examining the street parking for any SUV in sight. Ronan started to take them to the left, but Adam wanted to go right, so they split up.

There were surprisingly a few SUVs in sight, but none had a pink license cover or the hint of terrible people as owners.

"Freckle face!"

That was Piper's voice. He whipped around to spot them yelling from the club entrance, her and Colin. Before he was spotted, he ducked behind a car, and was quick to slide around its side on the street end to see Ronan had done the same. His shaved scalp was visible above the hood of a Mercedes.

That's when he spotted the Greenmantles' SUV. It was closer to Ronan, and it was unmistakably theirs. Even the parking job was terrible.

Quiet, he motioned to Ronan with waves of his arms. When their eyes locked across the street, he gestured to him where the car was.

Ronan held out the key towards it and pressed a button. Adam's entire body tensed against the Honda he was pressed against, afraid it would make them known.

But the SUV didn't beep or light up or anything. Strange. He needed to investigate what just happened for himself. So he began his ascent, and he crawled around the cars slow, moving through them like a prowler, or like a raccoon he saw do this once when he was at school. In a bout of fright, he ducked down when he ended up at a car Colin was leaning over on the other side.

"Where the fuck did they go?" he said, just above him.

"What did they mean when they won't leave a scratch?" Piper huffed. "I hate riddles."

His heart was doing its very best interpretation of an escape from his chest, pulsing quicker than he'd ever felt it against his ribs.

Slow again, he continued on when Colin moved, to Ronan's positioning. He glanced back at the two insufferables when he had to cross the street, and hurried as much as one can hurry crouched down like a hobbit.

When he was around the other side of the cars on Ronan's half, he slid easily through them until he reached Ronan. Without a word uttered, he calmly took the keys from him and pressed to unlock.

The car didn't react at all, and it wasn't until he looked down at the logo did he realize it wasn't even the same brand on the keys as it was on the car.

So he tossed them on the ground.

"These aren't the right keys, Lynch," he hissed low.

"Shit." Ronan looked to be self examining his time alone. "But it was in her jacket from earlier."

"They must've been in his," Adam reasoned. He stole a glance over the hood of the car they hid behind, seeing Colin now checking around the cars.

Then he checked his phone, despite his better instinct not to.

They had three minutes.

Ronan shook his head. "I looked," he said.

"Or maybe on their person. Crap. Well, what do we--"

Ronan was gone from his side and had rounded the others cars to the SUV.

"Lynch!" he called after him as quiet as he could manage.

He hurried along the same trail, crouching his run. It was awkward. He fumbled into a Toyota, but luckily the alarm didn't go off.

As he arrived to the Greenmantles' SUV, Ronan just finished shimmying open the door with a wire coat hanger. Adam stood at once, impressed.

"Where did you-?"

"I stole it from the coat check," Ronan said proudly. Though it wasn't what Adam meant at all. "You never know when you--" 

He kissed him, taking in a gasp that emitted from Ronan like a revival of energy. Sated by his lips, he then shoved him away.

"Move over," he instructed.

As Ronan obliged, Adam slid into the driver's seat and bent down. With nimble but nervous hands, he removed the paneling below the steering wheel. Once he was looking at all the wires, he knew what to do. He knew this from work at Boyd's, having to play around with the inside of the cars more than once. Suddenly it all came back to him, and he wasn't nervous anymore.

"Ronan, keep watch," he said, though he doubted he heard him.

All Adam could hear was the sound of his pulse in his head. He found the two wires that worked and pulled them out for this, sparking them together a couple times until he heard the engine roar like a lion. With relief, he sat back and looked at Ronan, who at some point climbed into the passenger seat. He gestured to be his guest and drive, holding his phone up to record now. Adam eagerly put both hands on the wheel and smiled at the camera.

Then he saw Piper, fire in her eyes, spotting them in her car. He quickly shut the door and locked it when she started to scream for Colin. She wasn't far, and he shifted into gear when she began to storm towards them.

But she wasn't close enough, and so he stepped on the gas and skidded out of the parking space. Adrenaline was coursing through him again like taking a hit of something sharp and potent that ran through his veins faster than this car could drive.

"What about the Pig?" he realized, as they passed it down the block.

"I already texted Gansey the address to come get it," Ronan replied. Adam then noted his phone was off again, since they had already won. "Him being him, he has spare keys. He's going to meet us somewhere with it. I think it's safe we dump this as soon as possible."

"Oh, good." Adam's fingers curled tighter around the wheel when they were officially clear of the club. "And yes, I agree. We also have to remember to scrub the interior of our fingerprints and DNA."

"Oh my god, Parrish," Ronan said with a lightness in his voice. "I don't think they're going to report this to the police."

"You can never be too sure."

Ronan laughed. That sound calmed Adam Adam a little, even if it also unnerved him.

"So... what now?"

When he looked to Ronan, he saw him grinning ear to ear, a wild smile that held dangerous ideas.

"Let's go for a joy ride," he said.

Adam couldn't help himself, and he smiled too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! <3 please leave a comment if you can i love receiving them <3
> 
> take a guess on the next dare!!! i'm gonna leave it as a surprise again ;) tell me your thoughts, love you readers!!


	16. leap of faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, Mega Genius, how do we do this without dying?"
> 
> Adam's lips curved up slow as he adjusted his faculties to completely focus on the task ahead. A plausible solution popped into his head, but at 3 am it was going to be a hard one to pull off.
> 
> "We're going to need supplies," he said.

After dumping the SUV in some random neighborhood that would cause a little scrambling on the Greenmantles' part and a lot of fun on Adam's, Ronan and Adam met up again with Gansey and crew to take back the Pig.

"She looks okay," Gansey admitted, hand on the hood like it were a child or a dog. "I suppose you can drive her again."

Ronan rolled his eyes while stepping back into the driver's seat.

For the most part, the dares were certainly more dangerous, but they weren't as terrifying as what Ronan said his father had to do.

"Maybe they've toned down the level of violence," Adam mused.

But he spoke too soon, as their next dare came when they were pulled over at an all night donut shop fueling up.

 

_Jump off Queensboro Bridge -_ $100,000

 

"Oh my God," said Ronan.

"That's a lot of money," Adam noted.

"Uh, and also kind of dangerous?" Ronan waved a hand between Adam's face and his phone.

"Hello? Earth to Parrish."

"What?" Adam came out of his stupor long enough to set his phone down. That was so much money. If there was a way to stop playing after this, even this was enough to help him get by for now. He started calculating in his head, when out of nowhere Ronan kissed him.

It was a soft kiss, as gentle as the summer wind, and when Ronan finally pulled away, it had left Adam breathless.

"What was that for?" Adam said, struggling to speak clear enough. He was disoriented, and could still taste the chocolate cream from Ronan's lips.

"Because I'm about to do the world's dumbest thing ever for a cute guy, and I had to get in one last kiss before I plummet to my death."

Adam blinked at him as he watched in silence to him pressing accept so dramatically.

"Don't talk about it like that," he said, though he sensed Ronan was using humor as a cover for the fact this was eerily similar to what had happened to his father. Only his father didn't fall on purpose.

Adam gulped.

"So, Mega Genius, how do we do this without dying?"

Adam's lips curved up slow as he adjusted his faculties to completely focus on the task ahead. A plausible solution popped into his head, but at 3 am it was going to be a hard one to pull off.

"We're going to need supplies," he said.

 

~~~~~

 

They had an hour to get to the bridge and jump, which sounded like more than enough time, except that included getting supplies as well as making the trek. So, really, they were running on borrowed time by the time they got back to Noah's apartment.

The party was long over, the only ones left being Henry, Noah, Gansey, and Blue. They sat in a collective in the living room watching the television that still televised Adam and Ronan's stream, while simultaneously streaming what appeared to be the Greenmantles'. The pair of evil models were on a boat somewhere. It was unclear what they were doing.

"Did you get what we asked for?" Ronan said once they arrived.

Prompted by their presence, Gansey was quick to turn off the television. Reluctant, Noah turned and stood like he had bad news. The visual was enough to make Adam clench.

"No," he said, "but I know a guy. He lives in Queens, though."

It was bad news. Adam's shoulders stiffened.

"Isn't that near the bridge?" Henry asked.

"You don't know how New York works, do you?" Noah replied.

"How will that help us?" Adam snapped. "We have 45 minutes left."

He felt a hand at his back, knowing full well whose it was, and he didn't feel any calmer. Blue and Henry looked on like he was going mad. But he was just terrified. Cold. Angry. Tired. The list went on and on.

"You're the one with the senile plan," Noah shot back. "Don't get mad at us."

"Oh my god we're going to lose or we're going to die." Adam turned around, picking at his hair. It was crusty from the water, smelled like faint sewage. He felt disgusting as he picked at it, and just the shifts in his body told him he was going to have a panic attack. He could feel it oncoming, the structure of his bones, his breathing. His hearing was peaking, and Ronan's hand no longer helped.

Blue moved into him, and she was talking but he couldn't hear. She looked at him with such concern, as did Henry, as did Ronan until he started to argue with the others.

Adam couldn't focus. His body shifted away from it all, slipping out from the group like an outlier. Everything was getting a little fuzzy, disorienting. They were going to lose. So close to the finish line. So close to getting some justice for Ronan's dad. So close to all that money.

And it was to be squandered because Queens wasn't close enough for them to drive to and back.

Then all the talking over each other stopped and everything went still and quiet. All that was audible was the sound of his heart. It _thu-thumped_ hard in his best again and again like a race was ongoing.

He only realized after that it was because Gansey had shushed everyone.

"Wait," said Gansey. "I think I know someone who can help cut down the time. Let me call real quick."

"Make sure to be polite," said Blue. "Like regular people polite."

"I am regular people polite," Gansey argued.

She grimaced. "Not really."

Without thinking, Adam said, "Can I shower first?"

He needed a moment to himself. He needed to get away from all the talking. Just for a moment.

"Parrish, we're about to jump into the river," Ronan snorted. "I don't think you need a shower."

"I smell." He did. "It's for my own personal hygiene habits."

Noah gestured down the hall. "Be my guest."

"I know the way."

Adam was back in Noah's room in an instant. He barely glanced at the bed as he passed it to the bathroom, unable to focus or enjoy the recall of what transpired there. As soon as he was in the bathroom he shut the door and collapsed onto the toilet lid. With one hand clutching the side for balance, he allowed himself to hyperventilate for a moment.

This was getting ridiculous. The height of that bridge was so high. All the risks involved. All the chances to fail. What if they never even make it far enough to jump without a safety net? He probably would still do it. Ronan earlier made it sound like fun, but he was probably kidding. He, too, knew the risk and the reward. And Ronan was starting to catch on to Adam's risk taking edge. His determination outweighed the circumstances.

Adam was barely able to focus on the floor, when the door opened and in walked Ronan.

"Taking a shit with your pants on, Parrish?"

"Ever heard of knocking?" Adam gritted his teeth, eyes drifting shut to Ronan's weighted smirk.

"Is that what that is when people's fists hit doors?" His worn knuckles rapped at the fake wood. "Had no idea."

It was hard to give him a glare, but Adam tried. Ronan moved across him and ignored the expression on his face, choosing to sit on the edge of the tub. Their feet brushed together in the small space. Adam wanted to only clutch the edge of the toilet tighter with him here. As Ronan inspected the curtain, he was eerily quiet. It made Adam more anxious.

"That sure was a quick shower, wow," he said, evading Adam's gaze in a bewildering effort of offering space when he could just leave.

Adam rolled his eyes. "I haven't started yet," he said.

Finally, Ronan turned to him. 

"Are you going to start at all?"

"Did you come in here to watch?" Adam shifted uncomfortably. "I only put on shows the first Saturday of the month, afraid to say."

"Damn. Guess I'll come back."

Just like that, Ronan stood and walked out. The door shut behind him and everything. The situation left Adam mystified. Did he really just come in to make a joke?

Then the door opened again, and Ronan came back to sit on the floor. He still didn't speak, no jokes were cracked, no smiles or smirks. His back pressed into the wall opposite Adam, allowing him the sanctity of his silent comfort at a distance.

Adam smiled a little, relieved. He normally liked being left alone, but as Ronan took his hand and looked to be checking his nails, he was glad to not be left alone this time. Tonight was full of new discoveries. Like the heart attack that was this boy.

"I could use a shower, too, you know." Ronan spoke so casually as he flipped Adam's hand about between his.

Adam's brow raised high. "Oh?"

Ronan shrugged, playing it cool. He didn't meet Adam's gaze, still, which gave off the impression he was screaming internally

"No funny business," Ronan mused. "I'm not that kind of girl."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Adam smiled wider. "I don't want to touch your penis anyway."

It was evident Ronan was struggling hard not to split a smile. His cheeks twitches. "Just pretend it's like gym class," he ultimately said.

Adam startled himself with a laugh.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The shower was worth the waste of time, and worth the excuse to be alone with Ronan a little while longer. Adam didn't smell anymore like a night of sweat and dirt and dares; it was all going to go downhill again soon, anyway, with a jump in the river but it didn't mean he couldn't feel clean for a little while. He felt a small high after spending the last five minutes alone with Ronan, even if nothing happened. Nothing much anyway.

They dried themselves in a calm quiet, and Ronan breathed into Adam's clean scalp with no sense of urgency. It gave Adam chills that lasted until they stepped back out into the main room.

"You two were in there for a while," Blue said as they walked out.

He gave her a look that said shut up.

"Only five minutes exactly," he corrected.

He actually counted.

"She's here," Gansey then said, coming from the kitchen. His phone was still being tucked into a pocket when he entered.

"Who?" Adam was confused. Those five minutes were lost to him in terms of solving their plan's problems. As a result, he didn't know what was to come next.

When Ronan took his hand and whisked him to the stairs, he didn't know where they were going or why. When they started to ascend instead of descend, he became even more flustered and confused. The group all went along with it, Gansey at the head, and Noah at the tail. Ronan continued to glance behind him, smiling when he did. It made the whole thing less terrifying as when they found themselves on the roof.

That was when Adam realized what was happening.

First came the sound, then the wind, and then he looked up to see a helicopter landing on the roof, careful not to crash.

When the helicopter landed - probably illegally - out came a woman who looked vaguely similar to Gansey. She stepped out from the pilot seat and waved, wearing a cocktail dress and heels, her hair waving in the light wind from this far up. Any other situation, the view of the city surrounding them may have been bewitching, but as of now it was simply terrifying.

"To those of you who don't know her yet," Gansey said with pride, "this is Helen, my sister. Helen, this is Blue, Henry, and Adam. You of course know the other two hooligans already."

With a curt wave, Ronan stepped an inch closer to Adam when her eyes fleetingly passed over him. Adam could laugh at that, but he didn't feel it necessary. His mind was too boggled by everything else.

"Enough with the chit chat." Helen made a circular motion with her finger like she was trying to wrap this all up. "You said you're on a time restraint? We should get going."

"Get... What?" Adam gaped. "We're getting in that thing?"

He looked to Ronan, the terror rippling through him uncaged and visible in his face. As a result, Ronan held his hand.

"You can cling on to me if you're scared," he said, and at once Adam masked his concern. He said it mildly mocking out of a fondness between them, but even so Adam felt a twinge of heat in his ears.

He scoffed. "I'm not going to do that."

His hand was already slipping into Ronan's. Ronan smiled.

"Where are we going?" He then saw Blueand Henry and Noah weren't getting in. "Where aren't _you_ going?"

"We're staying here," said Blue. "I'm not about to get in that."

"My hair would get messed up," said Henry. To express it further, his hands gently poked at the gelled spikes on his head.

"We have other parts of the plan to complete for you before you get back," added Noah.

"Wait, we're taking this twice?"

Adam said that as the helicopter door shut on him, sealing him in and his fate inside the flying metal beast. He hasn't even registered he stepped inside, let alone buckled in and sat down. He sat back against the seat, panicked. He clutched Ronan's hand tight. "Remember to breathe," he said to himself. 

"Parrish, are you trying to break my fingers?" Ronan said. "I need them for things."

"You can masturbate with your other hand."

Gansey and Helen both gave them a look, but Ronan roared with a childish glee that Adam felt surge through his veins and somehow calm him. He leaned into him, closing his eyes. 

"Where are we going?" he thought to ask.

Helen awoke the beast again.

"To Queens."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was annoyingly late/early when they buzzed the intercom where Noah's "friend" lived. It was a dingy old apartment on an older screen since forgotten. By the sound of the man's grunts and gruff voice on the other end, he was asleep when they rang, or very very tired.

"What is it?" he said, noticeably annoyed.

"We're uh, here about your business?" Gansey asked. He glanced around at the others, uncertain if he should outright say.

There was a silence.

"You do have a business don't-"

"Who wants to know?" the man replied, swift and biting.

Gansey opened his mouth to speak again, but was promptly shoved aside by Ronan, who bullied his way to the intercom speaker. He pushed it in with a knuckle.

"Noah's friends. You were expecting us. You can't be that fucking dimwitted, can you?"

Adam and Gansey stilled. He was going to kill Ronan if this guy didn't do it first. As he moved to shove at his shoulder, Ronan's eyes sparked with life. He was smiling, as they could hear the wheezy breathing on the other end.

"Well why didn't you say so?" he said.

Then he was gone again.

Once gone, Adam gently punched Ronan in the arm, who cackled as he shrunk back into the doorway.

"What was that for?" But Ronan's smile insisted he knew.

"You don't do that," Adam hissed. "We need this. You don't insult people when we need them."

"Oh, only when we don't need them, then?"

Adam rolled his eyes. "You're unbelievable."

Ronan placed a hand over his own heart. "Thank you."

"Enough with the flirting," Gansey said, openly concerned. He glanced down the street, where most of the lights had burned out at some point, at the darkened end of it where his sister was waiting by the helicopter. "Is he- do you think he's coming back?"

There was a buzzer at the door, and then the unlatching sound.

"Shit," Ronan said with glee. He was swift to pull the door handle, and in they walks d

The place was sketchy as hell. Old, damaged objects littered the hallway floors. The elevator lights flickered and half the buttons were falling off. Adam almost insisted to take the stairs. He didn't trust it could take them to the right floor. 

As they walked along the hall, it wasn't certain if anyone actually lived here. It felt abandoned, eerily quiet, even if it was the middle of the night.

The only door left clean and rooted in its place properly was the one marked for their dealer, as it were. He opened it before Gansey finished raising his hand to knock.

Inside, they found the man at a desk with a dozen monitors connected to one another, all showing different things on their screens. Adam was pretty sure there was porn on one, but he did not want to look again.

The place was darkly lit, painfully so. There were take out containers all over, and boxes of things that were likely stolen from warehouses or shipping containers everywhere and unopened.

Who was this guy? How did Noah know him?

"You got the money?" He twirled around in his desk chair like a villain, but his knee banged a drawer and he cursed.

"Money?" Adam said aloud.

The guy paused his painful moaning and looked at them. All of them. Slowly, his brow curled downward.

"Thought Noah would tell you," he said. "I don't do shit for free. Especially for someone who landed on my street in a fucking helicopter."

"How much?" Ronan grunted. If this was his way of being friendly--

"10 K, for starters," said the man. He was older, early 40s Adam reckoned. How did he end up in this life? "This shit is top of the line and it wasn't easy to find, especially in short notice as it were."

"We don't have that kind of money on such short notice--" Gansey started to say.

The man rose, tall and lean. He awkwardly towered over Gansey with a start. 

"Then get the hell out," he said. "I'm not wasting my time any more than I have. Noah can keep his skateboarding connections if this is how he expects to conduct business, waking me up at god knows what hour and expecting me to do something for free. Go on. Scram. I'm tired of handouts."

"Hey, fuck--"

Adam grabbed Ronans shoulder before he could step into the man, and shook his head no when Ronan startled at the touch. Without thinking, Adam began heading for the door, dragging Ronan along by the hand. He was not wasting any more time.

But Gansey then stepped forward when the rest shied.

"Now, Mr..."

"You can call me Gray."

"Gray." Gansey wore a politician smile now. "Yes. Lovely. Mr. Gray, I'm assuming Noah explained the situation?"

"Yeah." Gray grunted. "And I've been watching it, too, myself. Played it once. Didn't win." He said it bitterly. "So what? I said get out of here."

"Not so fast, Mr. Gray." Gansey was pleading, and Adam wanted to tell him it wasn't worth it. The man was cocky enough he wasn't going to budge, bitter enough he would waste their time so they would lose, and mean enough he would probably hack their accounts and steal their money if he wanted. "Please. There's a deadline, as you know and--"

He eyed them all with a strange glance, like something only just occurred to him. A light bulb that went off in his head. Then his eyes fell on Adam and Ronan, and Adam felt very self conscious when they squinted.

"Hold on." He reached for a light switch, and Adam was illuminated with a blinding light as the apartment became visible. He blinked away the stars and released Ronan's hand, incapable of sight now, feeling dangerously vulnerable. "You the ones that hot-wired the Greenmantles' car?"

When they could, Adam and Ronan exchanged a look.

"Yes," Adam said for them. He didn't feel embarrassed by it, only confused by what Gray wanted to know.

Gray nodded. "Right. Well, I've done some revisions, and since this'll help put those SOBs in their place, I'll do it pro-bono. So long as one of you brings my shit back to me."

Adam blinked. What?

"Of course!" Gansey said eagerly on their behalf. "Of course! Oh, thank you, Mr. Gray. Thank you so much! Sincerely."

He squinted at Gansey, disturbed by his persistence, and then looked back at Adam and Ronan. 

"Have you ever used one of these before?" he asked.

Ronan elbowed Adam to speak for them again.

"Uh, no."

Gray smiled for the first time since they walked in. "You kids really are just running on pure luck, aren't you?"

Adam wanted to gulp. He wanted to nod. He feared their luck would run out at any second all night. But instead he remained defiant and frowned and said, "Where's the box?"

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

"That guy was a real weirdo," Ronan mumbled as they tucked the box into the back of the helicopter.

"Yeah, but hey, we got what we needed," Adam insisted. He felt confident again now that they stepped out into the cool night air. One of Ronan's arms wrapped around his waist to drag him closer. He pulled him in for a kiss, but Adam insisted they hold off.

"Half of what we need," Ronan then argued. "The other half--"

"Isn't as important," said Adam. "Just ideal."

"How are you going to use those, anyway?" Gansey peaked his head around the side of the copter when they parted ways, touching moved to a minimal amount.

"I've got some sort of idea," Adam mused. "I just hope it doesn't count as cheating."

"Hey, they never said we had to jump without help," Ronan reminded him. "Those fuckers who make the dares did this to themselves."

Adam smiled. That was true.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The objects in Adam's very short wish list were as follows:

Bungee cords

Wet suits

Plastic bags

A death wish - Ronan's sick joke

After procuring the first, it was left to Noah, Henry, and Blue to find the second. The third was easy enough, and the fourth - oh, Ronan - was something Adam felt he had all night.

The logistics of jumping into a body of water were these: clothes were going to be a problem. Phones were most definitely going to get wet. Ignoring the chance of hitting the water wrong and getting hurt, getting out and then back up to their car was going to be a problem in and of itself. Nothing was going to be easy about this one or safe, the least of which was getting out onto the bridge safely. To jump.

But they would manage, Ronan said, like a prayer into his ear on the walk up to Noah's place. They had about twenty minutes left and Adam was starting to panic again. Even with Ronan's hand around his waist, lips at his ear, breath on his skin.

Those were all distractions at this point.

They walked into Noah's with the box, and looked at their other friends who stood there holding another box. The three flinched at the sound of the door shutting loudly, and Ronan snorted.

"Did you rob an REI or something?" he joked.

Noah pointed a single finger at him, unamused. "It doesn't matter," he said, and Adam was suddenly inclined to ask for clarification, but nothing came.

Because then Noah was ripping open the box and revealing object number two to them in all its holy glory.

Everyone leaned in over the box's opening, looking down into it. No one said anything, or did anything, and after what felt like the last of their twenty minutes was up, Adam reached into the box and felt the texture of the wet suit on his palm.

"You think they fit?"

Ronan glanced at him. "Only one way to find out."

Wet suits, as Adam quickly learned, were not easy to get on. Certainly not easy for the first time. Certainly not easy when the wearer was nervous. In Noah's bedroom, Adam had to give in and ask Ronan for help, who seemed to know how to do this more than he did. He didn't want to ask how or why right now, more focused on the idea of making it to the bridge on time.

They were running low on time.

"I feel like a human sized condom," said Ronan, when they were all finished.

Adam kissed him instead of laughing, because if he laughed he was pretty sure he would start to cry. This was about to be the dumbest thing he has ever done, and this was someone who climbed across a ladder between two buildings only just hours ago.

Their friends didn't get a chance to say much once they stepped back out into the hall, as time was running short and the bridge wasn't exactly close. Blue gave a weak hug before Adam was torn away from her and the others, by Ronan's overzealous hand.

They ran up the stairs back to the roof, Gansey not far behind with the second box in hand.

"See you on the other side?" he said. He was going to drive the car to meet them, if they even survived. Adam had been calculating the logistics the entire run up to the roof, and it didn't look good.

But with Ronan's palm against his palm, he was sure he could take on the whole world and his odds would look up somehow.

Ronan barely offered a nod before Helen insisted on shutting the door.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

In a blink, they were on the bridge. Their phones were on, recording their anxieties and the depths of the water below. Time passed eerily fast, blurs of it were all he remembered. Adam looked down and almost slipped, as Ronan was trying to figure out how to use their last few minutes to get the bungee cord to work. The plastic bags wrapped around their phones hopefully didn't obscure too much, but at this point Adam didn't care. He just wanted to live.

"You ready?" Ronan asked behind him. "You look green right now."

Adam gave him a withered look. His wet suit was green.

"Har har."

He took in a sharp breath when he toed the edge of the bridge, staring down at the black abyss.

"Before we jump," he said, looking back at Ronan who was finishing up with final touches. "I just have to say one last thing."

"Please don't let it be a chemistry joke-" Ronan started.

"You have a nice penis."

Adam meant to say something entirely different, but upon the word joke it just slipped out. It wasn't really a joke. Adam maybe sort of meant it. He liked Ronan enough that he suffered through all this with him tonight, side by side, hand in hand. He never really liked anyone this way before, and as strange as it was, he was grateful for it.

Ronan was so surprised he wasn't even capable of being embarrassed. He just laughed.

"I saw it at the park," Adam confessed. He also saw it in the shower, but that was neither here nor there. "Thought I'd give it a shout out, you know, as one does."

"I knew you stole a look." Ronan smirked, still barking up a storm of laughter. He looked as if he were about to fall.

"Normally not one for seeing someone naked on the first date," Adam continued, his voice starting to shake, "but you know-"

Ronan kissed him to likely shut him up. He accepted the kiss wholeheartedly, eager to forget they were standing on the cusp of their destiny here. He thought to himself he'd very much like to see Ronan's penis again under better circumstances, and better lighting, and without worrying about anything except where his hands should go.

Against his lips, in the cold and the dark, Ronan whispered to him. "You have a beautiful penis, Parrish." His nose scrunched up and he looked to almost laugh again, but he didn't. "That's a weird sentence. Take from it what you will."

"Thank you."

Ronan kissed him again. Just then, the buzzer went off. They had to jump.

"No," Ronan said. "Thank _you_."

"You're welcome?" Adam wasn't sure what he was saying it for. He smiled anyway, wanting a third kiss.

"You sure about this?" Ronan looked down, facing out at the water below.

"No," Adam admitted.

Ronan laughed again, nervously. "Well, at least you're honest," he said.

Adam then reached for his hand, snaking his fingers between. "Together?"

Together, they pressed their foreheads into one another's, eyes closing to remember this moment.

"Always," Ronan said.

And then they jumped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! <3 please leave a comment if you can. i love receiving them <3
> 
> didn't meant to leave it on a cliffhanger (haha literally almost) but lemme know what you think!!!! how about that intro to Gray huh? we're almost near the end!!! tell me your thoughts, love you readers!!


	17. it's nearly over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam trusted Mr. Gray about as far as he could throw him, which at the moment wasn’t far at all. Halfway through the jump, he anticipated the chords to snap, to slip, to something. And for them to fall, crashing into the water abyss and die.

Adam trusted Mr. Gray about as far as he could throw him, which at the moment wasn’t far at all. Halfway through the jump, he anticipated the chords to snap, to slip, to something. And for them to fall, crashing into the water abyss and die.

At his side, Ronan screamed out of joy or fear or some combination of both. He was grinning, cheeks flapping back from the pressure of gravity as they pummeled down the side of the bridge. Below was the darkness of the water, and he feared for it as they headed towards it. He welcomed it, too.

And then the chord caught, and he was painfully yanked on, the pressure of the chord hitting its end sending him and Ronan both flying up again.

His phone in his plastic bag beeped, and he removed it from his chest pocket to see it for himself.

_Dare Complete._

They did it.

They passed.

With a shake, he screamed out into the night, a delighted yell that could only come from the depths of adrenaline, of fear and risk.

He could scream like this all night. The excitement and terror of it all. His heart was racing in his chest, pulsing against his rib cage. He glanced over at Ronan, who was grinning back. Then Ronan shouted too, and like two wild animals in the night they hollered some more.

They bounced like this for a little while, until the chords no longer had any buoyancy left, and once they were left to only dangle there, he looked over to Ronan again, who nodded once.

“Guess we oughta,” he made a clicking sound, “get the fuck out now.”

Adam was nervous again.Not about the fall. It was short enough now the likelihood of death was minimal. But nervous for whatever else was to come after. Nervous of getting wet. Nervous the night was coming so close to an end.

Hitting the ice cold water at the bottom was like being swallowed up by a black hole. He couldn’t see. Could barely feel. Even in these ridiculous wetsuits, he still felt the chill creep in to crackle in his bones.

They dig themselves out of the abyss, and slowly swam to shore. In the quiet breeze, they met Gansey there, who reluctantly handed over the keys to his Campari again.

“You keep her safe,” he said, a hand to its hood.

“Of fucking course,” Ronan said, side stepping him to get their clothes from the trunk. “Now if you’ll excuse me... About to get naked up in here.”

“Oh, right. I’ll leave you to it then.”

Adam shined a devilish smile at him as Gansey trotted off to catch up with Blue and Henry in their car. Once they were gone, Adam and Ronan quietly shuffled out of their suits. Tried to, anyway.

“Can you help me with the zipper?” Adam turned to Ronan, offering him his back.

“Yeah...”

With shaky hands from the cold, Ronan touched at his nape, finding the zipper tucked inside. He helped unzip, spreading the material at his backside wide, until he reached the far end slowly at his mid-back. Adam thought nothing of it until he felt Ronan’s hand there, after it needed to be, touching at a bare shoulder blade with delicate precision.

“You have a scar here,” he murmured.

Adam shifted around to look at him, catching a softness in his eyes he hadn’t seen before all night.

“I have a few scars, yeah,” he mumbled. “You?”

Ronan shrugged, then offered his back to help take down his zipper. “You’ll just have to discover that on your own.”

There was a small shyness in this tease, as if he was uncertain of it. Adam laughed something of a small chuckling storm, and then kissed him once his zipper was down.

“Dork,” he said.

“That’s you,” Ronan replied, a hand slipping in to feel at the smooth of his jaw.

They are very good at this. The kissing. The winning. The surviving.

And the night was far from over.

Tattoos and blind racing and walking along sideways ladders were only the beginning. The rest of the night took them around the city again.

In Queens, they were asked to race a golf cart with a train, barely making it across the tracks before the train passed. In Times Square, they were dared to openly serenade one another in Times Square. It built a crowd, even at this wild hour. Ronan and Adam had fun embarrassing each other and then making out when it was over.

In Brooklyn they were dared to do something a little different. Dared to compete against another pair on who could eat five pizzas the fastest. And when they won (Ronan was both horrified and incredibly impressed by Adam’s gusto), they found themselves in the top of the game. They made it into the finals. Both received a text to report to the same address in an hour.

Ronan grinned down at the message. “We're nearly there,” he said.

Adam smiled, too. Everything was coming together. He couldn’t believe it.

“So what do you wanna do for an hour?”

With a twist of his brow, Ronan gestured something dirty.

“I have... some ideas,” he said.

Those ideas were all terrible, and instead they took a nap together in the backseat of Gansey’s car. It wasn't comfortable, but it was nice. Sharing this strange moment with Ronan was nice, but sleeping was especially nice. Sleeping was good. Sleeping was great.

He couldn’t imagine this was how the night went, how close they were to the end. When it was over, then what? There were an infinite number of opportunities after tonight. School and life and work and Ronan. Including Ronan in this equation now was strange. It all felt so sudden, and yet it felt like he had been waiting for Ronan for ages.

Not waiting, exactly, but Ronan somehow fit into a piece of Adam’s puzzle and it couldn’t be explained any better.

One of their alarms went off first, and Adam groaned uncomfortably as it was clear after a couple minutes it wasn’t going to stop on its own.

He sat up, peeling off Ronan to search for the phone in question.

“Lynch.” He nudged him, feeling him stir a little, slower. “Lynch, get your ass up. We have to go.”

“Mm, no.” Ronan pushed at him, eyes still closed. “Too tired.”

“Get up, or I’m driving,” Adam whispered.

Surprising them both, Ronan jumped upright, banging his head on the roof.

“I’m up. I’m up.”

 

~~~~~~~

 

The location written in the message was a warehouse by the docks.

“Tad foreboding,” Adam said, as he unbuckled his seat belt.

They felt more energized and hydrated after the nap. Adam’s joints no longer ached. Nothing felt to be slowing him down. Everything balanced out again.

When they stepped out of the car, they were startled by another person in a mask.

“Fuck!” Ronan almost punched the person, if it weren’t for Adam putting a hand over his.

“You’re one of the only two teams left in the top,” he explained.

“One of two...?”

“Hold on, hold on!” Piper and Colin ran up from the dark of the docks, Piper matting her hair down and Colin tucking in a crisp new shirt.

“Oh, god,” Ronan groaned under his breath. He exchanged a look with Adam, disgusted both.

“You!”

“Oh, hello.” Adam waved. “Did you take a taxi here?”

Piper glared at them, and Colin has to physically hold her back as she tried for a lunge. Ronan and Adam stepped in closer to one another, smirking arrogantly as the masked Nerve attendant stepped between.

“No fighting, or you’ll be disqualified,” he said. Even under the mask, Adam could’ve sworn he saw a side eye.

Everyone waited awkwardly for Piper and Colin to calm down. Ronan gave a curt smile before getting the side eye, too.

“Anyway,” the masked man said with a sigh, “you have one last dare. As tradition goes, it’s picked at random. The dare is inside here.” He raised a skull shaped cup full of pieces of paper. Piper reached for it immediately, but the masked man swung his hand away from hers. “Newbies, since you're technically ahead, you get to pick the dare.”

Adam and Ronan dares a look at one another, uncertain by all this. The Greenmantles grumbled under their breath snide things.

Ronan then elbowed Adam, when neither stepped forward. 

“Go on,” he whispered. “You should do it.”

Adam didn't know what to make of that, but he supposed it might as well be him. Silent, he walked to the cup, and only then did he notice the camera on the masked guy's head. He shuddered. What a weird, weird game.

Without looking, he reached into the cup, ran his hand around inside until he found the exact paper he wanted. The paper he drew out was folded onto itself, with the nerve logo on its back. Anxious, he flipped it over and opened it.

_Race to the finish line. Winner takes all. - $1 million_

His heart jittered. It was real.

With gusto, he showed it to the camera, then hurried over back to Ronan, as the Greenmantles whispered to each other about the news.

“We don't have a car anymore,” Piper reported grimly. She shot a dark look at Adam and Ronan, who tried not to laugh.

“Yeah, these assholes stole it,” Colin added, before being elbowed.

“You stole our fucking clothes,” Ronan argued.

“You got them back,” Piper snapped.

“Only because the game probably made you,” Adam said.

Piper huffed. His assumption was right.

“You have twenty minutes to procure a car and meet them at the starting line, otherwise you forfeit the game,” said the masked guy.

“What!” Piper slapped at Colin's shoulder repeatedly. “Come on then. Let's go.”

As they scrambled to leave into the darkness again, Adam looked gleefully to Ronan.

They were so close. He could feel it. He saw Ronan's wide grin, and matched it, even if he didn’t know why.

“What?” His skin tickled with energy. Excited energy. 

“I'm good at racing,” Ronan replies.

“Don't look so smug.” Adam rolled his eyes. “They could somehow find themselves a sports car in twenty minutes.”

Ronan shrugged. “I can beat it,” he claimed.

Adam was not impressed with his gloating. “We should probably get to the starting point before time's up,” he said.

“What'll we do with the other fifteen minutes?” Ronan’s grin shot even wider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short but sweet! :)  
> only 1-2 chapters left (undecided lol)  
> sorry i rushed over their other dares but i admit i'm getting drained, and also they would've felt repetitive (to me) in relation to other things i've written both in this fic and others lol.
> 
> thanks for reading! <3 please leave a comment if you can. i love receiving them <3
> 
> anyway we're almost near the end!!! tell me your thoughts, love you readers!!


	18. race to the finish line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Tsk tsk.” Ronan clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Can’t even remember what nerdy jokes he’s used on me before. Whatever will I do with him?” He rested his chin in one hand, then cocked his head to the side.
> 
> “Who are you talking to? Shut up,” Adam said fondly.

Indeed they made it to the spot where the race started terrifyingly swift. Adam stepped out of the car, to look around. Nothing particularly interesting about this street or this block. It was a wide street, empty, and dark. One of the street lamps flickered. Another was broken. He wasn’t sure what part of town this was, still unfamiliar with much of the city.

“You going to stand out there for the whole thing?” Ronan leaned his head out the driver’s side window, smirking wildly.

Adam was a little cold and a little buzzed from the leftovers of the adrenaline high barely an hour ago. There was a breeze coming through the tall buildings, and it traced its way up the back of his neck. He looked back at Ronan peering at him, and he wanted to laugh.

“You look like like a dog,”

“Get in the barking car, Parrish.” A hand outstretched the open window, he slapped it against the side of the car door.

“What do dogs do with their bones?” 

Ronan quickly sat up in the seat. “Barium!” He frowned. “You said that one already.”

“Did I?”

“Tsk tsk.” Ronan clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Can’t even remember what nerdy jokes he’s used on me before. Whatever will I do with him?” He rested his chin in one hand, then cocked his head to the side.

“Who are you talking to? Shut up,” Adam said fondly.

Just like that, he retreated back into the car, sliding into the front passenger seat. He leaned over the gear shifts, and grabbed for Ronan’s shirtfront.

“Smartass,” he whispered, right before slipping his tongue in Ronan’s mouth. It was going to be the last time they’d get to do this for a while. He wasn’t sure what would happen if they lost. He didn’t want to think about it. So he dipped into Ronan, pushing back his seat to lie flat, and decided he would make out with him until they couldn’t anymore. He liked when Ronan put his hands in his hair, sucked on his lip, wiggled into him as he started slipping down the seat.

The sun felt as if it could rise at any given moment. It was that late, that the day was now flipped and it was to start again. Ronan said earlier tonight that once the sun was up, the game was over, and Adam didn’t believe that until now.

The game really loves making grand moments out of nothing.

Their make out session was put to an end when Adam heard a roar of a car pulling up beside them. He pushed Ronan off to sit upright, looking out the window to see what made that sound. By their side, he found himself staring at an unsurprisingly fancy ass sports car. Below him, he slapped at Ronan to sit up, too.

Ronan obeyed, with a glum look, lips pink and eyes speaking volumes of lust. But when he saw the car, he sat up the rest of the way even faster, knocking Adam back over into his seat. He laughed.

“Where did you find that ugly thing?” he said, rolling down the window to look over. The passenger window in the gaudy sports car next to them rolled down, too. It revealed Colin, and Piper at the helm, leering over her husband’s shoulder at them.

“It's _mine_ , child,” Colin said, declaring if he said it, it would make it so. “And it’s not ugly. You just have no taste.”

“I have taste,” Ronan snorted. “Just not cheap taste.”

Colin gawked as if he’d been slapped.

“So you're a snobby rich dick that gets off on nerve or something?” Ronan asked. Adam smacked him in the shoulder, but really he was laughing under his breath along with him.

Piper smiled darkly. “Or something.”

Groaning, Ronan looked back across at Adam. His eyes were already rolled up into his head. 

“I can't wait to kick their asses,” he said.

“Stay focused,” Adam said smoothly, biting his lower lip to smother more laughter.

“Can't say that I'm surprised you're the one driving,“ Colin then said to Ronan. Adam knew to be offended, though he wasn't clear why.

“Can't say I'm surprised you're not,” he said back. Piper was driving and Colin clearly had fragile masculinity issues that he got offended by the comment. Even though it literally didn't matter. But it did to him. So when he shot him a look, then tried to roll his window up fast, both Adam and Ronan burst out laughing, pulling back from the fight to focus on the race.

As they situated into their seats, another masked person appeared, to stand between the two cars at their heads.

“All right, Nerve fans! We’re forever bound together as witness to this monumental race. Tonight, there will only be one victor for this year’s Nerve. Sorry, one pair.”

Adam wanted to barf. This wasn’t that big of a deal.

“You’re to follow the masked people holding lights in their hands. Follow to the end, sure not to make any shortcuts - or you will lose. First to the finish line, and you’ll be the winner.”

Piper rolled down their window again enough to shout through, “See you on the other side, losers!”

She bared her teeth like a wild animal, and Adam had it. He gave her the middle finger, before leaning over Ronan to re-roll his window back up, too.

“Thank you to all the viewers, the donators, and to you, the Nerve players. Take these cameras, you two. Put them on your dashboards. They’ll catch everything.”

Someone else in a mask handed Piper one, then Ronan. Adam was the one who wanted to put it on the dash. It was tiny, round. It had a lot of little cameras on it. Every angle, it seemed. To get their every move, maybe. He wondered how much it cost as he stuck the sticky side on the dash.

“On your mark!” Ronan turned the car back on. “Get set!” Ronan changed gears, as the person in the mask waved a flag above their head. “Go!” they said, and waved the flag back down.

And just like that, Ronan and Piper peeled out, and the race began.

They drove. They drove fast. Adam grabbed the handle above his head, holding on for dear life, while his second hand unmistakably reached for Ronan’s on the gear shift.

It was strange, racing through the streets like this, in the dead of night, following the line of masked bodies holding their cell phone flashlights up for guidance. Several sharp corners trying to cut Piper off, Adam feared Ronan would smack right into one of them, squishing them between the building and Camaro.

Piper got ahead, but barely, sometimes falling behind when her car made too sharp a turn compared to theirs. They drove down back alleys and cut through open intersections.

The winding way was long and dangerous, Adam realized, when they found themselves now back into the land of the living. Traffic built up and Piper and Ronan had to race through it.

No shortcuts.

“You think you have it in you?” Adam asked, as Ronan shifted gears and slammed his foot on the gas. He flashed him a smile, challenging him to question him again it felt like.

And Ronan sped ahead of Piper, picking one of the thicker looking lanes backed up.

“Ronan, what the fuck—“

And he changed lanes fast, slipping into a thin gap between the other cars. They honked, and Piper stalked their movements. Then he switched over into the lanes on the left, going the opposite direction, averting traffic altogether. Swerving between the cars coming straight at them, he honked back, telling them to get the fuck out of the way. He changed back into the right lanes just as he passed the front of the front car.

Just like that.

“Shit!”

Ronan didn’t even react, but he swore he saw a smug smile creep onto his lips.

With another sharp left, they were back on track for the end, even as Piper tried to beeline ahead.

Ronan pushed down on the gas again, ignoring them.

They ran through red lights, skipped through roadblocks, passed through even more traffic. Ronan wasn’t letting up. Adam wasn’t sure even as they turned that the car went below 100. Everything outside was a fuzzy blue, a distant world that they barely got to see before they were already gone. Adam was nervous, but mostly he was excited.

Then Piper beamed ahead and cut them off, slamming on her brakes to force Ronan to slam on his too. As they settled, gasping as if the world had spun into them, Piper tossed something out her window, and then drove away again. Ronan sped forward too, but not before it hit their windshield. He was quick to use the wipers, though they made more of a mess than anything. He was sure one of the cameras caught this embarrassing effort.

It was a banana peel, smearing across the glass.

“Does she fucking think this is Mario Kart?” Ronan guffawed at the absurdity.

“I think she’s just pissed,” Adam reasoned.

“Well, I’m pissed too. Fucking can’t get a jump on them. They’re on my side every time I go fast or slow.”

Like they were now, as Ronan raced ahead. He tried to cut them off, but every time he thought he had one upped them, they one upped him back.

They were coming across another red light when Piper clipped the side of the Camaro. They heard the scraping before they felt it, that bump that jerked them both in their seats.

“Shit.” Ronan revved the engine. “Gansey’s going to kill me.”

“ _I’m_ going to kill you if you don’t kick their asses.”

“Jesus, Parrish.” Over his shoulder, Ronan offered him a smirk. “Sounds like you want to win. It’s just a game.”

Trying not to give in to his joke, Adam pushed at his arm, and watched as Ronan laughed maniacally. He slapped a hand to the roof of the car, pushing ahead of Piper. The nose of the Camaro inched ahead. They couldn’t see in the Greenmantles’ car, but they suspected they were snarling at them. Same as Adam glared back. He leaned enough into Ronan’s side to offer the window the middle finger.

”Very funny,” Ronan said. “Sit back— Christ!”

Before Adam could sit back down, Ronan swerved out and into the tail of the Greenmantles’ car. They swung out wide in a tailspin from the contact, and Ronan jerked to a hard stop, allowing the other car to disappear behind a corner of a tall building.

When they settled, Adam looked out the window to see what Ronan had avoided. One of the masked people stood off the sidewalk and on the street, having forced Ronan into Piper. He moved back on and switched his light off while Adam still watched.

Next to him, Ronan slammed his hands on the steering wheel.

“Fuck!” His palms went red as he slapped harder and harder. “Fuck fuck fuck.”

“Come on.” Breathless, Adam motioned ahead. “Just keep going. We can gain on them again,” he said.

Ronan seemed so mentally focused on the road, on driving, on winning, that Adam talking startled him.

His glazed over eyes came back into focus as they met Adam’s, life returning to him outside of the rage of the loss. He reached for his closer hand, feeling palm to palm, fingers between fingers.

“Yeah,” Ronan mumbled under his breath. Focus seemed to return to him slow. “Yeah,” he said again, more energized.

Taking his hand back, he put the car back into gear and pulled forward again, racing around the corner to see... nobody.

“Where did they go?” Adam’s chest clenched. “Are they already that far ahead?”

“I doubt their fucking car could move _that_ fast.” He squinted, leaning forward into his seat. “Where... are they...?”

A pair of headlights turned on up ahead, staring back at them. Piper was waiting for them in the middle of the streets.

“Shit.” Adam sat forward, too. “What are these morons doing?”

“I think I know.”

Before he let Adam in on it, Ronan started forward again.

And then so did Piper.

“Are we really playing a game of chicken right now?” Adam wanted Ronan to veer to either side, but this far away, Piper could shift to stay in front.

They were going to drive into each other. The Greenmantles cared less about victory than violence. They were ruthless creeps.

Out of the corner of his eye, Adam spotted Ronan slowing. His hand twitched on the gear shift.

“Lynch, don’t give in,” he said, touching his shoulder. “Keep going.”

“Parrish, they’re not going to budge,” he said.

“They are.” Adam knew Pipers in his life. Her fancy car meant more to her than winning. “They have no gumption.”

Despite everything, Ronan snickered. “Gumption,” he repeated.

“Not now.” Adam grabbed for the handle above his head again, preparing as Ronan maintained speed. “They’ll cave first.”

“I don’t think they will, Parrish.” He said this, even as he went faster. The Greenmantles for under his skin, too.

“Just keep driving straight,” Adam instructed. He wasn’t going to let those fuckers win, not even this. “We’re in the right direction anyway. They’ll chicken out.”

“Parrish, I don’t know.”

“Lynch.”

They were going to swerve. They were going to evade. They had to. They had to.

Ronan grimaced. His fingers flexed on the wheel. “I can’t.”

“Ronan—“

He lost. He jerked the wheel hard, fast. Hitting the brakes didn’t stop them from losing control and slipping into a spin, out of control and out of their hands. Adam held the handle so tight he feared he’d snap it off, his second hand gripping Ronan’s as their bodies smacked into each other.

One end of the car hit a newspaper dispenser. The other hit the curve wrong, bumping them out of their seats, their heads hitting the roof.

The Camaro stalled, just as they settled back hard down into the seats. Adam winced, pained. He got whiplash from the whole thing. It made him dizzy, uncertain which direction was which.

The Greenmantles were doing a U-turn in the middle of the street, and Adam watched them drive away to victory.

“Fuck!” Adam’s stomach climbed up to his throat as Ronan belted out his favorite curse word.

They were going to lose.

Adam succumbed to the inevitable. The truth lay in the bumper smacked into the dispenser that now tipped over at their back.

He was quiet as Ronan turned the car back on, observant as Ronan peeled slow back onto the street. The sound of the car scraping along the dispenser made them both wince. Gansey was surely clawing at his TV screen right about now.

Back on the road, Adam touched at Ronan’s hand on the gear shift and could feel him twitch at the touch.

They both knew the probability of winning was low now. Ronan wasn’t even going very fast.

Next to him, Ronan sucked in a sharp breath. Adam realized he might be trying not to cry.

“Ronan?”

Ronan shook him off, taking his hand back. Separated, he flexed his fingers as if Adam squeezed them.

“Hey.” Adam moves to touch his cheek, rubbing at the skin that felt a little wetter than the rest. His head throbbed, chest ached, stomach twisted, and he was trying not to cry, too. Reality hit him like a truck.

“We had a good run, didn’t we?”

“Yeah.” Ronan wiped angrily at his eye.

“Let’s still finish this, though, yeah?” He offered him a smile when Ronan glanced at him, sniffling.

“Yeah.”

Adam leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. Money wasn’t everything. Money was nice. Money would solve a lot of his problems. But if he had to do tonight all over again, he wouldn’t change a damn thing. Except maybe tell Ronan to pull back earlier than he did.

As Ronan picked up speed, they could hear sirens in the distance. Adam and he lost the cops once before. It wouldn’t be that difficult again. But when they rounded the next corner, they saw something different than they expected.

Piper and Colin were being chased by a cop car. Over the loudspeaker, they were told to pull over.

Adam raised a hand to Ronan’s chest, silently asking to hang back. Ronan didn’t need to be asked twice, and he pulled back.

“This isn’t real,” Adam said under his breath.

He sounded perhaps too giddy for his own good.

Colin was seen jumping out of the car at top speed, rolling off into a group of the masked Nerve nerds who were braking line and running off. His attempt at escape let the door hang open, and shortly after they witnessed Piper beak fast. The cop car bumped into her backside.

Both Ronan and Adam laughed.

“Oh my god.”

Following the speed limit, Ronan slowly drove past the scene, as one cop got out to chase after Colin, the other trying to get Piper to open the door.

They each waved as they passed. Ronan even smiled.

Both Colin and Piper scowled, cursing.

“Serves them right, the pricks,” Adam said as he settled into his seat.

“I would’ve liked to win this fair and square, but—“

“Beggars can’t be choosers, Lynch.” Adam smiled, despite himself. “And we haven’t won yet.”

_“Yet_.”

After a block, they found the route again, as the masked line of lights continued to realign and illuminate the rest of the way. Ronan decidedly drove slow and perfect the right of the way to the finish line. He even stopped at all the red lights.

It was surreal, to reach the end.

There was a horde of watchers there, masked as well and filming them. It was less eventful than they probably hoped. But it didn’t matter. Adam and Ronan won.

When they pulled in to the finish line, they were met with their friends, too, waiting for them on the sidelines.

 

_Dare Complete_

_Until next year, players_

 

It all felt so ridiculous. Blue and Henry hugged him. Noah, too. Blue even gave Ronan a kiss on the cheek.

They won.

They _won_.

Was it really over? Really?

“My car!” Gansey wailed as he walked to find his car a little bent out of shape. “Ronan!”

“Oh, relax.” Ronan said, waving him off. He walked across the front of the car to where Adam stood talking to his friends, and he pulled him in around his waist. “I’ll fix it. I know a guy.”

Adam shot him a dark look. “I’m not fixing your terrible driving.”

Ronan gawked, mockingly. “Fuck you, Parrish! I’m a great driver.”

“Tell that to the Pig,” Gansey moaned, a hand on its hood.

As they moved to all celebrate somewhere else, somewhere less public, Ronan touched both hands to Adam’s face. His smile was so bright it illuminated more than all the cell phone flashlights around them.

As they moved in for a kiss, there was that familiar ding from their phones. Adam didn’t want to ever hear that fucking sound again. He grabbed for his to turn it off, but was stopped by the notification on the screen. He gaped. He could nearly faint.

“Wait,” he said, smacking at Ronan to grab his phone too. “Did you get—?”

Ronan hurried to check, too. His eyes bugged wide.

“Yeah,” he said. “Shit. Did you—?”

“Oh my god.”

Each of them got a million dollars, not including the money they had been collecting all night.

Holy fuck.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowwwwwww here we are!!!!!!!! at the end!!!!!!!!!
> 
> one chapter left <3 thank you guys sooooo much for being on this journey with me haha it's been a DOOZY. how do you feel about the end of the nerve game??
> 
> thanks for reading! <3 please leave a comment if you can. i love receiving them <3
> 
> tell me your thoughts, love you readers!!


End file.
